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Class _XX-i-ii 
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Copyright N' 

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Frontispiece 

Views of the Calorimeter Laboratory, Wesleyan University, where Pro- 
fessor Atwater made His Famous Experiments in Nutrition. See Plan 
facing Page 49. From Yearbook, 1904, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 



NUTRITION AND DIET 



A TEXTBOOK 



FOR 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS 



BY 



EMMA CONLEY 

V 

DIRECTOR OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 
OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN 




NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



TX65 



Copyright, 1913, by 
EMMA CON LEY. 

Copyright, 1913, in Great Britain. 



CONLEY, nutrition AND DIET. 

W. P. I 



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©Cl.A34r)987 

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PREFACE 

Domestic Science as taught in the schools of this coun- 
try has three distinct phases : practical work in foods, com- 
monly called cooking, and taught in the school kitchen ; 
experimental work in foods, taught in the chemical labora- 
tory ; and the acquisition of knowledge concerning foods, 
nutrition, and diet, and its correlation with the knowledge 
gained in the kitchen and laboratory. 

The first phase of the work is usually formulated in 
some type of cook book, the second in a laboratory man- 
ual, and the third phase, because of the lack of suitable 
textbooks for secondary schools, has been presented by the 
lecture method. 

While several good college texts are published, there 
has been no book suited to the needs of high school pupils, 
and the result has been that the teacher has been obliged 
to dictate her college notes, adapted in some form, to her 
pupils. These notes, in subject matter and language, have 
been hard for the immature mind to grasp, and so much 
time had to be given to dictation that no time was left for 
recitation or for practical work in carrying out the plans 
formulated by the teacher. 

The lecture method has no place in the secondary school. 
Time spent in copying notes in class, and then recopying 
in ink into a notebook is worse than wasted, and it leaves 
no time for supplementary reading matter to which the 
teacher could refer the pupil. 

3 



4 PREFACE 

Such has been the experience of the author of this book, 
and as a result of this experience, the subject matter pre- 
pared, formerly dictated to classes, copied into notebooks, 
and learned for recitation by the pupils, has been put into 
form and appears in this volume. 

The subject matter is intended for classes that have had 
at least one half-year's work in practical cooking and some 
knowledge of foods. If cooking is taught as a high school 
subject, this book may be used to complement the work in 
cooking. In many schools a certain num'ber of periods a 
week are allowed for study and recitation, and a certain 
number for practical work, in kitchen or laboratory. 

This little volume, " Nutrition and Diet," is designed to 
supplement the practical and experimental work and unify 
the whole so that the student will know proper foods and 
the relation of food to health, strength, and efficiency. 

Many tables used in this volume are taken from United 
States Government bulletins ; in fact, unless credit is other- 
wise given, all the percentage composition tables are taken 
from the Government publications, as are also the tables 
called the Atwater Tables. All tables and menus in Chap- 
ter VI, Part One, were worked out by the author's classes 
in 191 2, and the meals were served exactly as they are 

outlined. 

EMMA CONLEY. 

OsHKosH, Wisconsin. 



CONTENTS 

PART ONE 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Composition of the Human Body and of Foods . . 7 

CHAPTER H 
Classification of Foods. Occurrence and Uses . . 18 

CHAPTER III 
Digestion 36 

CHAPTER IV 
Nutritive and Fuel Value of Foods. Digestibility . 43 

CHAPTER V 
The Balanced Meal 58 

CHAPTER VI 

Planning of Meals. Tables showing Calories in Foods. 

Menus . 66 

PART TWO 

CHAPTER I 

Classification of Foods for Detailed Study . . . 103 

5 



6 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER II 

PAGE 

Cereals io8 

CHAPTER III 
Legumes 128 

CHAPTER IV 
Roots and Tubers 134 

CHAPTER V 
Green Vegetables and Fruits 145 

CHAPTER VI 
Beverages and Condiments 152 

CHAPTER VII 
Animal Foods 156 

CHAPTER VIII 
Eggs 174 

CHAPTER IX 
Milk and its Products 180 

INDEX 201 



NUTRITION AND DIET 

PART I 

CHAPTER I 

COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY AND OF 

FOODS 

Introductory. — The medicine of the future is preven- 
tion. The time is coming when it will be considered as 
gross ignorance or carelessness to be sick as it now is to be 
unable to read and write. Almost every magazine and 
newspaper maintains a department, conducted, not as of 
old, to prescribe popular remedies for common ills, but to 
teach people how to keep well. 

To-day we have little sympathy for the dyspeptic after 
we see him consume foods that are almost indigestible to 
the average person. We know that every case of typhoid 
fever is due to criminal carelessness on the part of some 
one. We know that if the sufferer had had plenty of 
nourishing food and an abundance of fresh air, nearly 
every case of tuberculosis could be prevented. We know 
that many diseases are due to lack of attention to the 
proper ehmination of the wastes of the system, and that 
rheumatism is tissue poisoning. In fact, some one has 
well said, that if we looked after breathing, digestion, and 
elimination of waste, we should never be sick. 

It is necessary to have some knowledge to look after the 
different functions of the body. We must know the com- 
position of the body and what substances it is made of, 

7 



8 COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 

how the body secures these substances, in what form they 
are best suppHed, where they are found, how they act 
when taken into the body, how the body rids itself of their 
oxidation products, and in what foods substances which 
the body lacks are to be found. 

To acquire this knowledge we must take short journeys 
into the fields of biology, physiology, chemistry; but the 
facts are easily learned and the reward is health. 

Domestic science is no longer mere cooking. It is a 
mastery of the principles of cooking and their application 
to foods. It is vastly more than that. It is a study of 
foods, — their composition, structure, nutritive value, and 
place in the diet, — so that when a food is to be served, we 
know what it furnishes to the body, what effect heat has 
upon it, what conditions affect its digestibihty, and in 
what proportions it is best to serve it. In short, domestic 
science is the study of foods so as to know how to nourish 
the body. 

To find how the body is best served, we must know its 
composition, the composition of the substances with which 
we expect to nourish it, and how these substances act in 
the body. If we do not know these things, all knowledge 
of cooking is of little avail. 

Food Defined and Classified. — Food is any substance 
which, when taken into the body, supplies it with energy 
or builds tissue. Foods are oxidized or burned in the body, 
just as wood or coal is burned outside the body, and that 
oxidation produces energy. They produce just as much 
energy when burned in the body as fat or sugar would 
produce if burned in a stove or in the chemical laboratory. 
The energy produced in the body by the oxidation of foods 
is used to maintain the normal temperature of the body ; 



COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 9 

and to carry on the vital processes, — as digestion, circu- 
lation, respiration; and for work and activity. 

The body is made up of an aggregation of cells, and col- 
lections of these cells, having special functions, make up 
the tissues and organs of the body. The cells and tissues 
of the body are being constantly worn out, and new ones 
must be built up from, or out of, the food taken into the 
body. The burning of food and cells in the body is called 
oxidation, and constitutes the vital process called life. 

Not all foods can build tissue. The cells and tissues of 
the body contain nitrogen, and hence the only foods that 
will build tissues are those which contain nitrogen. A 
food which contains carbon will yield energy when oxidized. 

Foods are grouped into five classes : proteins, fats, car- 
bohydrates, mineral matter, and water. Proteins contain 
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. Fats 
and carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 
Proteins, mineral matter, and water build tissue ; fats, 
carbohydrates, and proteins yield energy. 

Foods are also classified as animal and vegetable foods. 
Examples of animal foods are meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk, 
fat. Examples of vegetable foods are potatoes, carrots, 
rice, wheat, peas, apples. 

Structure of Foods. Animal and Vegetable Cells. — 
All foods, whether animal or vegetable, are similar in 
structure in that they are mxade up of innumerable cells 
held together by some intercellular substance. An animal 
cell consists of a tiny mass of protoplasm having a center 
called a nucleus and sometimes surrounded by a cell wall. 
The nucleus may be called the Hfe center of the cell, be- 
cause it controls growth and reproduction; the proto- 
plasm contains the nourishment. The protoplasm and the 



lO 



COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 




Cells from Human Body (Magnified). 

a, a colored cell from the eye; b, a white blood 
cell; c, a connective tissue cell; d, a cell from 
lining of the mouth; e, liver cells; /, a muscle 
cell from the intestine. (From Overton's Ap- 
plied Physiology.) 



nucleus are composed of protein, mineral matter, and 
water, and they get these substances for their growth and 

reproduction from the 
blood. The digested food 
is absorbed and becomes 
part of the blood, and 
thus reaches the cells, 
where it becomes new 
cells, or is oxidized and 
produces energy. 

Animal cells are held 
together by an inter- 
cellular substance called 
connective tissue. Some- 
times fat is found between the cells. Fat is stored in cell 
walls of connective tissue, and forms adipose or fatty tis- 
sue. All animal tissue, whether bone, nerve, or muscle, is 
made up of cells, composed of substances which are formed 
from the food which is 
eaten and which is carried 
to the cells in the blood. 
Vegetable cells consist 
of a nucleus or life cen- 
ter, and a network of 
protoplasm ; inclosed in 
this network are starch 
grains, mineral matter, 
and water. The whole 
is surrounded by a wall 
of cellulose — a substance 

similar in composition to starch, but unlike it in structure. 
Cellulose also holds vegetable cells together. 




Fat Tissues (Magnified). 

Connective tissue cells from pockets in which the 
liquid fat is stored. 



COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 



II 



The protoplasm in vegetable cells consists of protein, 
and is similar in structure to that in animal cells. In 
some foods it is so slight that there is scarcely a trace of 
it, in others it makes up from one seventh to one half of 
the solid nutrients. Starch or sugar, and some mineral 
matter, are found in all vegetable cells. Starch is the form 
in which the nourishment is stored in the plant for the 
seed. When the seed 
germinates, the starch is 
turned to sugar, and in 
this form it circulates in 
the plant. Starch may 
be called stored nourish- 
ment and sugar circulat- 
ing nourishment. Vege- 
table foods are best for 
human consumption be- 
fore they begin to ger- 
minate. Fat is found 
in some vegetable cells. 
The cellulose which surrounds the cell cannot be digested 
in the human stomach and must be softened by cooking to 
free the inclosed starch and protein. 

Uses of Foods. — Every cell in the body is constructed 
out of the food taken into the body. Food is made over 
in the body into flesh, bone, nerve, and blood. Food is 
also oxidized in the body and furnishes energy needed for 
work and activity and to carry on the vital processes, and 
to maintain the right bodily temperature. The complete 
food for any animal must contain all the elements of which 
its tissues and all the fluids of its body are composed, and 
it must contain them in the right proportion. If they are 




A Thin Slice of Potato (Magnified). 

;, albuminous pockets; h, starch grains in the 
pockets. (From Overton's Applied Physiology.) 



12 COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 

not supplied in the proper proportion, the body will be 
weakened because of the deficiency. A familiar example 
of this impairment of tissues is seen in the disease called 
rickets. In this disease not enough mineral matter is sup- 
plied to children, and the bones are soft and cannot bear 
the weight of the body without bending out of shape. 
When lime is supplied in the right proportion, the bones 
become hard. 

The words Element and Compound are terms used in chem- 
istry to distinguish different forms of matter. An element 
is a substance which has not been separated into other sub- 
stances. A compound is a substance composed of two or 
more elements united in definite proportion : Example. 
Iron is a substance which has not been separated into other 
substances. Water is a combination of two substances, 
hydrogen and oxygen, united in the definite proportion of 
two parts of hydrogen to one part of oxygen (H2O). Iron 
is an element ; water is a compound. 

Elements found in the Body. — There are eighty or 
more elements known to the chemical world, and thirteen 
of these are found to make up the human body. They are 
oxygen (62I %), carbon (21^ %), hydrogen (10 %), nitrogen 
(3 %)• Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, sodium, 
magnesium, iron, sulphur, and fluorine make up the remain- 
ing 3 per cent. There are, also, traces of iodine, silicon, 
and several other elements. All these elements are de- 
rived from the food taken into the body, and each one 
has its use and is necessary for the maintenance of a 
healthy body. 

Occurrence in the Body. — Though the body is made 
up of these thirteen elements, they do not occur as 
elements, but as compounds, and as compounds they 



COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 



13 



form the various cells and tissues of the body. Albumin, 
composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, 
and sometimes phosphorus, is found in all the cells of the 
body. It enters into the structure of the brain, nerves, 
muscles, and blood. Fat, composed of carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxygen, is found all over the body, covering the mus- 
cles, surrounding internal organs, and between the cells. 
Sugar, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, is found 
in the blood, Hver, and tissues. Lime, composed of calcium 
and oxygen, is found in the bone, blood, and nerves. Salt, 
composed of sodium and chlorine, is found in the tissues 
and fluids of the body. Iron is found in the haemoglobin 
of the red blood corpuscles, and gives them power to 
carry oxygen to all the cells of the body. 

Occurrence in Foods. — All foods which we eat, whether 
animal or vegetable, are also compounds of some of the 
thirteen elements united in different forms and proportions. 
Proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and 
sulphur. Carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen, oxy- 
gen. Fats contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Water 
contains hydrogen and oxygen. The mineral matter oc- 
curs in combination with the organic substances, as pro- 
teins and carbohydrates. These foods are taken into the 
body through the mouth and carried to the stomach and 
intestines, where they undergo chemical change and are 
reduced to a soluble form, so that they can enter the blood 
and be carried to the cells, where they are made into the 
tissues of the body or are oxidized for energy. 

The only way that the body can receive the materials 
out of which to build its tissues, supply the energy needed 
for living, and secure enough heat to maintain normal 
temperature, is through the food eaten. These demands 



14 COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 

of the body must be supplied, or the health and the 
working efficiency of the individual are impaired. For 
these reasons, it is of the utmost importance that all peo- 
ple should have some knowledge of the composition of 
the various foods and what elements they will supply. 
The best example of the service such knowledge would 
render to the individual can be seen from the fact that 
growing girls are subject to anemia, a disease or condition 
due to the lack of iron in the red blood corpuscles. 
Almost the only way that the human body can assimilate 
iron is when it is in combination with some organic sub- 
stance, as in food. A study of foods would show which 
contain the desired iron, and the diseased or abnormal 
condition could be readily remedied. 

Another example which shows the importance of this 
knowledge is furnished by the fact that if any element is 
not supplied in the right proportions needed for all the 
vital processes and tissues, the amount supplied is first 
used for the vital processes, and the tissues suffer. More- 
over, if not enough is supplied for the vital processes, it is 
taken from the tissues, and they are weakened to that 
extent. Lime, for instance, is needed for bone, nerve, and 
muscle. It is also needed in the blood and digestive fer- 
ments, and will be taken first by the blood and ferments. 
The result of an insufficient supply would be soft bones, 
twitching nerves, or flabby muscles. Lime is needed for 
infants and growing children in much greater abundance 
than for those who have attained growth, and mothers 
should know what foods supply an abundance of lime. 

Chemical Change or Action. — In various substances 
the elements are held together more or less loosely, so that 
if two substances are brought together, the elements tend 



COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 15 

to separate and unite again with other elements to form 
new and more stable substances. This is called chemical 
change or action, and is constantly going on, transforming 
inert waste substances into plants and animals, and break- 
ing down living matter into hfeless matter. Plants take 
in carbon dioxide, — a waste substance given off by animals, 
— water, and mineral matter, and from them construct 
starch and other substances found in plants. Certain bac- 
teria feed on living matter, as tissues in the human body, 
and decompose it. Yeast plants break down sugar and 
change it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Iron has a 
strong attraction for the oxygen in the air. In the pres- 
ence of moisture, the iron unites with the oxygen, forming 
a new substance called oxide of iron or iron rust. 

Probably the most familiar example of chemical change 
is the one usually cited because of its similarity to the 
chemical change which takes place in the body when foods 
are oxidized. That is, the burning of any fuel outside the 
body, as wood. 

Wood is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and 
mineral matter. When air is present, and the wood is 
brought to the kindling point, the carbon in the wood unites 
with the oxygen in the air, forming carbon dioxide (CO2), 
and the hydrogen and the oxygen unite to form water 
(H2O). The mineral matter remains in the form of ash. 
In this way, from wood and air are formed two new sub- 
stances unlike either of them, carbon dioxide and water. 
These are the products of combustion, and they are formed 
whenever a substance containing carbon is burned. When- 
ever chemical change takes place, energy is involved. 

Heat is a form of energy. Any form of energy can be 
changed into another form without loss. Thus, electric 



1 6 COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 

energy may be transformed into light, power, or heat. 
The energy of burning coal may be used to run an engine 
or heat a train. When any substance is burned, energy is 
released as heat. Different substances yield different 
amounts of energy, — a pound of coal will yield more energy 
than a pound of wood ; a pound of fat will yield more energy 
than a pound of sugar. The unit for measuring heat is 
called the calorie. It is the amount of heat that would 
be required to raise i pound of water 4° F. ; it is equiva- 
lent to the amount of energy required to raise i ton 1.54 
feet. 

Oxidation. — Oxidation is the name given to one of the 
chemical changes which take place in the cells of the body. 
The red corpuscles of the blood carry oxygen to the cells. 
The plasma of the blood carries albumin, fat, and sugar 
to the cells. This oxygen unites with the cells and the sub- 
stances brought by the plasma, and slowly burns or oxidizes 
them, producing as much energy as these substances would 
yield if burned outside the body. Some of this energy 
manifests itself in the form of heat, and is used to maintain 
the normal temperature of the body (98.6° F.). Some of 
the energy enables the body to carry on its vital processes. 

Oxidation is necessary for the life and growth of the cell. 
It is the process by which the old cells are broken down 
so that new ones may be rebuilt. The cells are built from 
the albumin and mineral matter brought to them in the 
plasma. The breaking down of the old cells and the build- 
ing of the new is called metabolism, and it includes also 
the production of energy during oxidation of the organic 
material brought to the cells. These processes are insep- 
arable because we should consider the fat and sugar as 
fuel needed for carrying on the work of upbuilding and 



COMPOSITION OF THE HUMAN BODY 17 

repairing of cells, though the building material must be 
protein. 

By oxidation of foods, energy is produced ; but by this 
oxidation or chemical change of food, new substances are 
formed called end products, and these products must be 
eliminated, as the body has no further use for them. 

By oxidation of fats and sugar, carbon dioxide and water 
are produced. By oxidation of albumin, carbon dioxide, 
water, and the nitrogenous waste, urea, are produced. 
These waste products are eliminated through the lungs, 
skin, and kidneys. 

The food as it is taken into the body must go through a 
series of changes before it can be taken into the blood 
and carried to the cells. This process is called digestion, 
and will be considered in another chapter. Metabolism 
includes the changes which take place in the cells,, as dis- 
tinguished from the changes which take place in the diges- 
tive tract. 



CONLEY, N. & D. — 2 



CHAPTER II 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS. OCCURRENCE AND USES 



NITROGENOUS FOODS. 
I. True Proteins. 

Build tissue and yield 
energy. 

All coagulated by heat 
or acid or ferment. 

Coagulation tempera- 
tures. 

Heat about 165° F. 

Ferment 98.6° F. 



Forms of Protein 
Albumin in egg. 
Soluble in cold water. 

Fibrin in meat. 

Myosin in meat. 

Soluble in dilute salt solution. 

Casein in milk. 
Soluble in dilute alkali. 



II. 



III. 



IV. 



Albuminoids. 

Do not build tissue, but 
yield energy. 

Softened and dissolved by 
hot and boiling water. 

Form gelatin on cooling. 

Hardened by heat and 
evaporation. 

Extractives. 

Neither build tissue nor 
yield energy. 

Stimulate, and aid in the 
assimilation of pro- 
teins. 



Gluten in wheat. 
Legumin in beans. 

Forms of Albuminoids 
Elastin in cell walls. 
Ossein in bone. 
Collagen in connective tissue. 



Forms of Extractives 

Kreatin, xanthin, etc. 

Products of decomposition of 
muscle tissue. 

Found in meats and some vege- 
tables. 



Nitrogenous Fats. 

Lecithins, peculiar nitrogenous fats found in different cells 
of the body, as brain, nerves, liver. 

18 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 19 

Nitrogenous Foods. — The proteins, or albumins, as 
they are sometimes called, are the most important of all 
foods because they form the essential part of the proto- 
plasm of every cell of the body. The same might be said 
of such mineral substances as phosphorus and iron, but 
these occur in combination with the various proteins, as 
nucleoprotein, chromoprotein, etc. All life originates in 
a single cell ; all tissues and organs are collections of 
cells. The cell then constitutes the unit of all animal 
and vegetable life. The cell consists of a tiny mass of 
protoplasm, — a jellyhke substance, more or less granular, 
having in the center a denser mass called the nucleus. 
Cells differ according to their various functions, but all 
cells are composed of 80 to 85 per cent water, a small amount 
of mineral matter, and proteins. 

The proteins are albumins, globulins, but mostly com- 
pound proteins as nucleoprotein, chromoprotein, and 
lecithoprotein. 

It can be said, then, that the proteins are the most im- 
portant of all foods because they form the essential part of 
the tissues in the body, and occur in the blood, lymph, 
and all secretions. 

Proteins are also oxidized in the body and furnish energy 
for work and activity. 

The chemical formula of proteins is only approxi- 
mately known ; very Httle is known of their molecular 
structure ; there is no universal agreement as to name, and 
no uniform class?hcation, because physiological chemistry 
is adding to our knowledge of their differences from day to 
day. No field of study furnishes more interesting and 
valuable research, information, and data. 

Chittenden has defined protein as a substance which 



20 CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 

contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur, 
— the nitrogen being in a form to serve the physiological 
needs of the body. That is, in such form that it will build 
tissue. 

The proteins contain about i6 per cent nitrogen, though 
the amount varies from 15J per cent to 19 per cent. The 
compound proteins contain phosphorus, also. Some con- 
tain iron and other elements. For the purpose of study 
nitrogenous foods may be classified as True Proteins, Albu- 
minoids, and Extractives (see page 18), but to get even a 
faint idea of the uses of the various foods as nutrients for 
the body, famiharity with the general classification of pro- 
teins is necessary. For example, wheat flour as commonly 
purchased is made from the part of the wheat that contains 
the protein in the form of glutelin ; the germ and outer 
coats, removed in milling, contain different proteins, as 
nucleoprotein and others. If, even in a grain of wheat, 
the character of the protein varies in the different parts 
because each part has different work in the growth and 
development of the young plant, it is evident that man 
should have some knowledge of the different proteins to 
know which foods contain those needed for the growth and 
development of his various tissues and organs. 

True proteins, as classified on page 18, or simple, de- 
rived and compound proteins as classified on page 34, 
contain nitrogen in a form to serve the physiological needs 
of the body for tissue building. They also furnish energy. 
•No one of these proteins mil build all kinds of tissue, 
however. An erroneous idea prevails that any form of 
protein is as good as several forms. That this is not true 
is seen from experiments where animals have been fed on 
one kind of protein and the deteriorating effects of such 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 21 

diet noted. It is also seen in the evil effects of excessive 
consumption of meat. 

It may be said that the opinion is gaining ground that it 
is not the quantity of protein consumed that is harmful, 
but the kind of protein. It might be added also, that it 
is the lack of certain mineral ingredients in some proteins. 

Albuminoids do not contain nitrogen in the form to serve 
the physiological needs of the body for tissue building, but 
they yield energy. For this reason they are spoken of as 
protein sparers, because if other foods are used as sources 
of energy, the proteins can be used simply for tissue building. 
Extractives are decomposition products of muscle tissue or 
proteins, and neither build tissue nor yield energy. They 
furnish flavor to meat, act as stimulants to appetite, and 
call out the digestive juices. 

The commonest proteins in food are albumin as found 
in egg and blood, casein in milk, glutens in wheat, le- 
gumin in peas and beans, fibrin and myosin in meat. 
Under the action of certain ferments normally present, 
they assume shghtly different form and composition. 
Ferments change hquid myosinogen, fibrinogen, and case- 
inogen to the coagulated forms myosin, fibrin, and casein. 
Foods containing the most proteins are cheese, legumes, 
meat, fish, egg, milk, and cereals. 

The true proteins are all coagulated by heat or acid 
or ferment and rendered less easily digestible. The higher 
the temperature at which they are coagulated, the harder 
they are to digest. Proteins cannot diffuse through animal 
membrane and are changed during digestion from insoluble 
proteins to a soluble form, — peptone, — and in that form they 
enter the blood. They are used in the body to build tissue 
and yield energy, and in this process they are broken down 



22 CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 

into simple compounds, their ultimate products of decompo- 
sition being the nitrogenous wastes, carbon dioxide, and 
water. 

The proteins are being constantly decomposed or broken 
down in the body as a result of cell activity. If these de- 
composition products are not immediately removed from 
the cells, they act as poisons or toxins, producing fatigue 
or pain or lowering the vitality. These products are nor- 
mally removed through the kidneys in the form of urea, and 
it will be readily seen that if more protein is consumed than 
is needed for tissue renewal, it either accumulates in the 
tissues, or is not fully oxidized to urea, and intermediate 
products are formed that may be harmful to the body, or 
may impose extra work on the excretory organs. 

Too much importance cannot be given to the fact that 
the system must rid itself of waste products, or they accumu- 
late and lower resistant power or working efhciency. It is 
because the decomposition products of protein metaboKsm 
are so harmful if not neutralized, or if not fully oxidized, 
that so much is written concerning excessive consumption 
of protein foods. 

Albuminoids occur in the various animal tissues. All 
forms of connective tissue, such as the cell walls and the 
substance that holds cells together, are albuminoids. The 
common forms are : elastin in cell walls ; ossein in bone ; 
collagen in tendons and ligaments. The albuminoids are 
hardened by heating and drying, but are softened and dis- 
solved by heat and moisture, and when cooled, form gela- 
tin. This knowledge of the action of heat on cell walls 
and connective tissue is of great value in the cooking of 
meats and fish. By boiling meat in water the cell walls and 
the substance holding the cells together are dissolved, the 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 



23 



protein inside the cells is coagulated and toughened, and 
the result is a stringy mass of fibers. This condition can 
be avoided by cooking the meat at a temperature that will 
soften, but not dissolve, the connective tissue. This con- 
nective tissue is so delicate in most fish that the flesh will 
fall apart if the fish are boiled. 

Extractives, as kreatin, kreatinin, xanthin, are found in 
meat juice and meat extract, also in some vegetables, as 
asparagin in potato. They are soluble in hot and cold 
water and are often lost in cooking. They give to meat its 
flavor. Those meats, like beef and mutton, having the 
greatest amount of flavor contain more extractives than 
veal, pork, and chicken. 

Extractives are present in greatest quantity in muscles 
that are exercised most ; game has more than tame fowl. 

Extractives neither build tissue nor yield energy, but act 
as'stimulants to digestion, and they may aid in the digestion 
of proteins. 

Lecithin is a peculiar nitrogenous fat, containing phos- 
phorus, found in nerves, brain, and bile. Combined with 
albumin it forms lecithoprotein and is found in the lungs 
and liver. In foods it is found principally in milk and eggs 
and in the seeds of plants. 

B. NON-NITROGENOUS FOODS. 

I. Carbohydrates. Forms of Carbohydrates 

Softened by heat or acid i. Starch. As in potato, rice, 
or ferment. corn, and all other vege- 

tables. 
Oxidized in the body and 2. Sugar. As in cane, beet, ma- 
furnish energy. pie, milk, and fruit. 
May be transformed into 3. Cellulose. Cell walls of 
fat and stored as fatty plants, 
tissue. 4. Pectose. Changed to pectin 



24 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 



by the ferment pectase. 
Causes fruit juice to gelati- 
nize. 

Forms of Fat 
Fats and oils. 



As butter, lard, olive oil. 



II. Fats. 

Oxidized in the body and 

furnish energy. 
Stored in cell walls, and 

freed from cell wall by 

heat. 
Separated into fatty acid 

and glycerin by steam 

or alkalies. 

III. Volatile Oils. In orange and lemon skins ; also in other 

fruits, flowers and vegetables. 

IV. Vegetable Acids. Malic in apples, oxalic in tomatoes, 

citric in lemons, tartaric in grapes. 
Decomposition products of starch and sugar. They are 
decomposed in the body, forming alkaline carbonates and 
help to preserve the alkalinity of the blood. 



V. Mineral Matter. 

In tissues and fluids of 
the body. 



Forms 

Lime in milk; iron in eggs, 
green vegetables, and leg- 
umes ; phosphorus in 
wheat, eggs, milk ; sul- 
phur in eggs; soda and 
potash in vegetables. 

Salt. 



VI. Water. 



Carbohydrates. — By the term carbohydrates is meant 
the large class of vegetable foods commonly referred to as 
starches and sugars. They are composed of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen, the last two usually in the propor- 
tion to form water. They are transformed in the body 
into glucose, and then oxidized, being sources of energy. 
Carbohydrates may be converted in the body into fats 
and form fatty tissue. Carbohydrates are classified as: — 



class:fiCx\tion of foods 25 

1. Amylases (CeHioOs), which include starch, dextrin, 
cellulose, gum, glycogen, and pectin. 

2. Sucroses (C12H22O11), which include sucrose or cane 
sugar, lactose or milk sugar, maltose or malt sugar. 

3. Glucoses (C6H12O6), which include dextrose or grape 
sugar, levulose or fruit sugar, and invert sugar, a mixture 
of the two. 

, 4. Vegetable Acids, decomposition products of sugar; 
the commonest are, — citric acid in lemons, malic acid in 
apples, tartaric acid in grapes, oxalic acid in tomatoes. 

Amyloses. — Starch is the nourishment, or reserve food 
for the young plant, stored in the roots or seeds until it 
is needed. It is found in all vegetables and in all parts 
of the plant, but is most abundant in cereals, legumes, 
roots, and tubers. It occurs in minute cells or granules, 
which consist of a wall of cellulose, inclosing starch and 
water. The granules, or cells, of various plants have defi- 
nite markings, shape, and structure, so that the potato 
starch is easily distinguished from the corn or other starch 
granules. The cell walls vary in thickness, and that ac- 
counts for the length of time which it takes to soften some 
vegetables in cooking. The plants containing most starch 
are rice, wheat, corn, tapioca, sago, potato, and arrowroot. 

Starch is insoluble in cold water, but is dissolved or ge- 
latinized in boihng water, forming a paste. Heat at 320° F. 
changes dry starch to dextrin ; heat and moisture cause 
starch grains to swell and burst the cell walls which inclose 
them, and this frees the digestible starch from the indigestible 
coating of cellulose. During digestion the ferments ptyalin 
and amylopsin change starch to sugar. Invertin changes 
cane sugar to glucose, — the form in which it is soluble in 
the body. In the ripening of fruit, heat and acid change 



26 CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 

starch to sugar. In grains the ferment diastase changes 
starch to a form of sugar called maltose. Commercially 
starch is changed to glucose by the action of strong acid, 
as in the manufacture of glucose products from corn, with 
hydrochloric acid, or sulphuric acid. 

Dextrin is formed when starch is heated to 320° F. It is 
soluble in cold water and is more easily digested than starch. 
It is the first change which starch undergoes in its conver- 
sion into glucose. It is familiar to us in the crust of bread, 
in the browned flour used in gravies, and in the prepared 
breakfast foods and cereal coffees. 

Cellulose is the substance which forms the cell walls of 
plants. It has the same chemical composition as starch, 
but is insoluble in all common solvents. It surrounds the 
starch in such a way that it must be broken down to set 
the starch free. This is done by heat and moisture. 
Though ferments in the human stomach cannot act on cel- 
lulose, it plays an important part in digestion ; and to it 
green vegetables and fruits owe much of their dietetic 
value. 

The alimentary canal is twenty-five feet long and food 
moves down it rather sluggishly. If this movement is 
delayed or retarded, bacteria, always present in food, 
become active in the large intestine and undesirable fer- 
mentation takes place. Sometimes the undesirable food 
remains in the body and the poisons from its fermentation 
enter the blood, and affect general health conditions. 
They lower vitality or general tone of the body, and deplete 
energy. 

Cellulose stimulates the walls of the intestines so that the 
food moves down it rapidly enough to prevent the accumu- 
lation of waste. For this reason, foods which contain 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 27 

cellulose should be added to the diet, preferably green vege- 
tables and fruits, because they also contain valuable mineral 
salts and acids. 

Vegetable acids are decomposition products of starch and 
sugar and are formed by the action of a ferment. They 
are oxalic, tartaric, citric, malic, acetic. Lactic acid is 
formed during the souring of milk by the action of lactic 
acid bacteria on milk sugar. Vegetable acids are present 
in all fruits and are of great value to the body because they 
are decomposed in the body, forming alkahne carbonates, and 
help to preserve the alkalinity of the blood and tissues. 

Glycogen. — In the body starch and sugar are trans- 
formed into glucose. This glucose is carried to the liver 
and there converted into animal starch, or glycogen, and 
stored until needed. When needed, it is reconverted into 
glucose and enters the blood and is carried to the cells and 
oxidized. Glycogen is the form in which digested starch 
is stored in the body, glucose the form in which it cir- 
culates. 

Food Value of Starch. — Starch is easily and thoroughly 
digested by the average individual. Its coefficient of 
digestibility is 98 per cent, which means that 98 per cent of 
it is digested and only 2 per cent escapes digestion. When 
oxidized outside the body, one pound of starch yields i860 
calories; when oxidized inside the body it yields 1820 
calories or 4 calories per gram. 

Starch Test. — If a solution of iodine is added to a food 
containing starch, it will turn blue. 

Sucroses. — Sucrose, or cane sugar, is found in the juice 
of the sugar cane, beets, and maple trees. There is no 
chemical difference in these sugars, but maple sugar con- 
tains certain ethereal substances which give it its peculiar 



28 CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 

flavor. Sugar is soluble in water, melts at 320° F., turns 
to barley sugar at 356° F., and is caramelized at 420° F. 
Sucrose is converted in the body into glucose by the action 
of ferments. Outside the body it is converted into glucose 
by the action of heat and acid. 

Food Value of Sugar. — Sugar has the same food value 
to the body that starch has, but as it has undergone one 
step in digestion it takes less energy to convert it into glu- 
cose. For this reason it is of use to persons who have little 
or no power to digest starch, and is also a good food in times 
of great exertion or labor, when extraordinary demands 
are made on the body for an immediate supply of energy, 
such as in times of war when soldiers are on the march. 
Because it can be assimilated so rapidly there is danger 
that those who are fond of sugar will consume excessive 
amounts and that the fats and proteins will not be fully 
oxidized. If sugar is taken in too concentrated a form, it 
irritates the mucous membrane of the stomach, causing a 
great outpouring of mucus, which interferes with the secre- 
tion of gastric juice and gastric digestion. If taken in 
too great quantities, it may cause fermentation in the stom- 
ach. Contrary to current opinion, which seems to be that 
no warning is needed because of excessive consumption of 
sugar, observation has shown that girls who consume 
excessive amounts of candy and foods containing much 
sugar — and there are many such girls — have no appe- 
tite for nutritious foods which they need, and are subject 
to indigestion, and its train of ills. Sugar contains no min- 
eral matter. 

Lactose. — Lactose, or milk sugar, is the form of sugar 
which occurs in milk. It can be separated from the other 
ingredients in milk whey, and is sold for medicinal use, or 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 29 

to add to cow's milk for infant feeding in place of cane 
sugar. In fermentation of sucrose, carbon dioxide and al- 
cohol are formed, while the product of lactic fermentation is 
lactic acid. 

Maltose. — Maltose, or malt sugar, does not occur in 
nature, but is the result of the action of the ferment diastase 
on starch in grains. During germination, diastase changes 
the starch to maltose ; this is done during the process of 
liquor making. Maltose is formed during digestion by the 
action of ptyalin and amylopsin on starch. 

Glucoses. — 

C12H22O11 plus H2O = (C6H12O6) & (C6H12O6) 
Sucrose plus water = dextrose and levulose. 

Glucose is the form of sugar that is soluble in the body 
and the form in which it circulates. All starch and sugar 
taken into the body must be converted into glucose before 
it can be assimilated. Glucoses are colorless, odorless 
substances of sweetish taste and neutral reaction. They 
are soluble in water and diffuse through animal membrane. 
They occur in three forms, dextrose, levulose, and invert 
sugar, a combination of the two. Dextrose occurs in na- 
ture in grapes. When they are dried, it separates out into 
yellow granules. Levulose occurs in fruits, roots, and 
seeds of vegetables. 

Commercial Glucose. — Glucose is manufactured from 
starch, usually corn starch, by the action of hydrochloric 
acid. This glucose is about three fifths as sweet as cane 
sugar and is sold as a thick, colorless, transparent liquid 
under the name of corn sirup. It is the basis of many 
sirups, to which something is added for flavor and color. 
It is also used in making cake frostings, creams, and candy 
where a non-crystaUine sugar is desirable. It seems to be 



30 CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 

harmless to the human system if properly made, despite 
the fact that there is much said against it. Cane sugar 
may be converted into glucose by the addition of a small 
amount of acid, as in the making of fondant. It is con- 
verted into glucose and loses some of its sweetening power 
when it is added to fruits in cooking. For this reason 
some people prefer to add the sugar after the fruit is cooked. 

Fats and Oils. — Fats are substances composed of car- 
bon, hydrogen, and oxygen ; and when they are oxidized 
in the body, they yield energy. The chemical formula for 
stearin, one of the fats, is (Ci7H35COO)3C3H5. This 
shows that fats contain so little oxygen and so much carbon 
that more oxygen is needed for their oxidation than for 
either protein or carbohydrate, and hence one pound of 
fat yields two and one fourth times as much heat as either 
of the other organic foods. For this reason fats are some- 
times referred to as the heat-producing foods. 

In addition to yielding energy, fats occur in the body as 
fatty tissue, though carbohydrates and proteins are thought 
to be the sources from which fatty tissue is formed. 

Fats occur in the body, under the skin, in the muscles, and 
around certain organs to protect them from injury, and 
they serve as a reserve supply of fuel when needed in case 
of sickness or when food cannot be taken. They save the 
tissues from being used at such times, because, if food can- 
not be taken, the demand of the body for heat and energy 
to carry on vital processes is imperative and must be met 
by fats stored in the body or by the tissues, just as when 
wood and coal are not attainable, furniture must be sacrificed 
to furnish fuel to keep people from freezing. 

Fats are liquid in the living body and are stored in 
albuminous cells or pockets. These cell walls must be 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 31 

ruptured by heat or by the action of the digestive juices to 
set the fat free. Fats are decomposed by steam, by boiling 
with an acid or an alkah, or by the digestive ferments, 
hpase and amylopsin, into fatty acid and glycerin. All 
fats are compounds of one or more fatty acids and glyc- 
erin. When fats are decomposed into fatty acid and glyc- 
erin and either soda or potash is added, the fatty acid 
unites with the alkali and forms soap. 

The commonest fats are : stearin, composed oL-Btearic 
acid and glycerin; palmitin, composed of palmitic acid 
and glycerin; olein, composed of oleic acid and glycerin. 
Most fats are mixtures of several fats and glycerin ; the 
predominating one gives the general character to the fat, 
as olein in lard, and stearin in beef fat. 

There is no chemical distinction between fats and oils. 
An oil is fat which is hquid at ordinary temperature. 
Fat is found in all animal foods, as meat, fish, eggs, milk, 
butter, and cheese. It occurs in some vegetables, as olives, 
cottonseed, cocoa, oats, and an inappreciable amount in 
roots and tubers, green vegetables, and fruits. 

Volatile or Essential Oils. — A substance present in 
fruits, flowers, and some vegetables, which gives to them 
their characteristic flavor or odor, is called essential or vola- 
tile oil. It occurs in orange, lemon, and grapefruit rind, also 
in almonds, vanilla beans, onions, garlic, coffee, and other 
foods. It volatilizes in cooking and is frequently lost. 
Foods with great quantities of it are often cooked in un- 
covered dishes so as to allow it to escape, or the water in 
which the food is cooked is changed several times. 

Water. — The human body is nearly 60 per cent water. 
It enters into the formation of every tissue. Even the 
enamel of the teeth, the hardest substance in the body. 



32 CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 

contains water. All fluids of the body are chiefly water. 
It is usually taken into the body as a drink, though most 
foods are over 50 per cent water. It is formed in the body 
during oxidation of hydrogen compounds, which would 
mean fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. About four pints 
of water are excreted daily from the body through the 
kidneys, skin, lungs, and intestines, so it will be readily seen 
that more water is needed by the body than the aver- 
age person consumes. 

Water has many important uses. As has been said, every 
tissue contains water and cannot exist without it. Water 
is a solvent, it reduces the food to a liquid condition so 
that it can be easily swallowed, digested, and absorbed. 
It dilutes the digestive juices so that they can reach every 
particle of food and act on it. It dilutes the blood and 
lymph, and aids in carrying nutrition to the cells and in the 
removal of waste products of metabolism. It aids in the 
excretion of urea and excites peristalsis. It distributes 
the heat over the body by promoting circulation, and 
through perspiration it regulates the temperature of the 
body by carrying away surplus heat. It moistens all 
membranes of the body. 

Water is not absorbed from the stomach, but enters the 
intestines and aids and excites peristalsis there. When 
water is not taken into the body in sufficient quantity, it 
leaves the tissues to supply the blood, resulting in imper- 
fect circulation, imperfect removal of waste, and loss of 
bodily weight. Warm or hot water has several important 
uses. It washes away mucus that sometimes covers the tubes 
which secrete gastric juice, and by promoting its flow aids 
and stimulates gastric digestion. It is used medicinally 
also. 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 



33 



Mineral Matter. — The tissues and fluids of the body 
contain 97 per cent carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitro- 
gen; and the remaining 3 per cent consists of various 
mineral substances, as iron, sulphur, phosphorus, potassium, 
sodiurn, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, and fluorine. These 
minerals are combined with the organic substances forming 
the various tissues and fluids ; and when these are oxidized, 
the mineral matter remains as ash or inorganic solids, and 
is eliminated as waste, mainly through the kidneys. They 
usually occur in foods, as acids or salts, in combination 
with the organic substances. They are most abundant 
in vegetable foods, and also occur in eggs, milk, and 
meat. 

They are absolutely essential for all vital processes, — 
as digestion, assimilation, oxidation, growth of cells, repro- 
duction, and all processes of metabolism. 

Uses of Mineral Matter. — Mineral matter occurs in all 
digestive juices and enters into the composition of all 
tissues. Calcium phosphate is found in the bone, and 
calcium salts are necessary for coagulation of blood. Iron 
is found in the haemoglobin of red blood corpuscles and gives 
them their power to carry oxygen to the cells of the body. 
It is also found in the chromatin substance of the cells, 
which is necessary for reproduction and development. 
Phosphorus is found in the nucleus of every cell, and is 
essential for metabolism. It is most abundant in brain 
and nerve cells. The chlorides are necessary for the pro- 
duction of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice, and 
sodium chloride (common salt) is found in all the tissues 
of the body. 

Mineral matter regulates the chemical reaction of the 
blood, all secretions, and excretions. It regulates the 

CONLEY, N. & D. — 3 



34 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 



specific gravity of the blood, and aids absorption and 
excretion. 

In protein metabolism acids are formed, and base-form- 
ing elements, as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, are 
necessary to neutralize the acids and maintain the normal 
alkalinity of the blood and tissues. These elements occur 
in greatest abundance in vegetables and fruits. 

General Classification of Proteins (For Reference) 

1. Simple Proteins. 

A. Albumins. Lact, ov, serum, muscle albumin. Coagu- 

lated by heat; soluble in cold water, dilute salt, acid or 

alkali solution. Drawn out of meat by soaking in cold 
water. 

B. Globulins. Milk, blood, egg, vegetable globulins. Fibrin, 

myosin, zein, edestin, legumin. Coagulated by heat. 

Insoluble in water. Soluble in a dilute salt solution. 
C Glutelins. Glutens in wheat. Insoluble. 
D. Phosphoalbumin. Found in the nucleoalbumin of cells. 

Vitellin of egg yolk, casein in milk. Coagulated by acid 

or ferment. Soluble in dilute alkalies. 

2. Derived Proteins. 

Derived from simple proteins by action of heat or acid or 
ferment. 

A . Albuminates. Formed by action of acid or alkali on albumin, 

as syntonin. 

B. Coagulated proteins. Formed by the action of heat or acid 

or ferment on albumin. 

C. Peptones. Formed by ferment action during digestion. 

3. Compound Proteins. 

Simple proteins plus some other molecule. 

A. Nucleoprotein. Found in nucleus of cells. 

Albumin plus nucleic acid. 

B. Glycoprotein. Found in mucin and mucoid. 

Albumin plus a carbohydrate. 



CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS 



35 



C. Chromo protein. 

D. Lecithoprotein. 



4- 



Found in haemoglobin. 
Albumin plus iron. 
Found in cells. 
Albumin plus lecithin. 
Albuminoids. 

Ossein in bone, elastin in cell walls, collagen in connective 

tissue. Insoluble in water or salt solution. 
Dissolved by boiling. Gelatinizes when cooled. 



CHAPTER III 
DIGESTION 

Digestion is the process by which food is changed from an 
insoluble to a soluble substance so that it can diffuse through 
the walls of the stomach and intestines and reach the 
blood vessels and lymphatics. This is accomplished by 
mechanical and chemical action. Thorough grinding by the 
teeth is necessary to reduce it to pulp so that it can be easily 
swallowed and so that every part of it can be mixed with 
the saliva. The muscular walls of the stomach and intes- 
tines also produce mechanical action or movement, called 
peristalsis, which brings the food into contact with the 
gastric juice and hastens it along the intestine. 

The chemical action is brought about by ferments. 

Ferm.ents are a class of substances existing in the animal 
and vegetable world that have the power to bring about a 
chemical change in a substance while remaining unchanged 
themselves. Each ferment acts only on one certain sub- 
stance ; some act best in an acid medium, some in an alka- 
line ; some ferments are so strong that they destroy others 
present or render them inert. Animal ferments are killed 
at a temperature about 167° F., vegetable ferments at a 
temperature about 176° F. 

The most important ferments concerned with digestion 
are ptyalin in the saliva ; pepsin and rennin in the gastric 
juice; amylopsin, trypsin, and steapsin in the pancreatic 
juice ; and invertin in the intestinal juice. 

36 



DIGESTION 



37 



There are also several well-known coagulation ferments, 
— the fibrin ferment, which causes coagulation of the blood, 
the milk ferment rennin, pectase which coagulates pectin 
in plants, and others. Oxidation ferments in every cell 
seem to be responsible for the vital processes. In fact, 
Simon says, '^ There is a tendency to assume that all vital 
phenomena are due to certain ferments." 

Digestion in the Mouth. — Food first enters the mouth 
and is thoroughly ground by the teeth and mixed with a 
colorless, odorless, liquid of alkahne reaction called saliva. 
The saliva is produced and secreted by three pairs of glands 
called salivary glands, which are located in front of the ear, 
below the tongue, and in the cheeks, and which pour their 
secretion into the mouth when it is needed. 

Saliva consists of about 995 parts water, 5 parts of solid, 
which consists of mucin, mineral salts, and a ferment called 
ptyalin which changes starch to sugar. The amount 
secreted varies greatly. When the food is thoroughly mas- 
ticated, more saliva is called out, and the food is liquefied 
so that it is prepared for stomach digestion. Dry foods 
call out more saliva than moist foods, and for this reason 
thin and soft breakfast foods are not so readily digested 
as the dry or more solid ones that must be masticated and 
mixed with the saliva. A pleasant frame of mind and free- 
dom from excitement will result in an abundant secretion of 
saliva when food is presented, while anxiety, worry, or 
anger will retard it. The importance of thoroughly mas- 
ticating the food, so that the saliva can reach all parts of it 
and have a chance to act on it, cannot be overestimated. 
The more saliva there is mixed with the food, the greater 
will be the quantity of gastric juice called out to neu- 
tralize it. 



^S DIGESTION 

The action of the ptyaHn continues for about an hour 
after the food reaches the stomach. As soon as the acid 
gastric juice is thoroughly mixed with the food, the ptyaHn 
ceases to act. The result of mouth digestion, then, is that 
the food is finely ground, mixed with the watery saliva so 
that it may be easily swallowed, and the digestion of the 
carbohydrates is begun by the action of the ptyalin on the 
starch. 

Peristalsis. — The food passes through the pharynx and 
esophagus and enters the stomach, where its presence 
causes a continuous and regular movement of the muscular 
walls. This movement, called the peristaltic movement of 
the stomach, keeps the food in constant and regular agita- 
tion so that it is thoroughly mixed wdth the digestive juice. 
The gastric juice is secreted by the glands in the stomach, 
and its flow is promoted by the steady intake of food and 
by the presence of the alkahne saHva which it neutrahzes. 
The gastric juice is a colorless fluid of acid reaction, con- 
taining hydrochloric acid and two ferments, rennin and 
pepsin. 

The ferment rennin coagulates milk; the pepsin, when 
mixed with hydrochloric acid, softens and dissolves the 
proteins, changing them to proteoses and peptones, — forms 
of protein that can diffuse through the walls of the stomach 
and intestines and reach the blood. Pepsin dissolves the 
albuminous pockets in which fat is stored and sets it free. 
It acts only in the presence of an acid, and so hydrochloric 
acid is necessary for its complete action. If the acid is 
deficient, stomach digestion is retarded. Hydrochloric 
acid also destroys such germs of fermentation as may enter 
the stomach in food. 

The result of stomach digestion is the reduction of the 



DIGESTION 



39 



food to a liquid form, the coagulation of milk by rennin, 
the beginning of protein digestion by the action of pepsin 
which reduces the protein to the proteoses and peptones, 
and the prevention of fermentation by the action of the 
hydrochloric acid. 

Intestinal Digestion. — The main work of digestion is 
carried on in the small intestine. A slow peristaltic move- 
ment produced by the contraction and relaxation of the 
muscle fibers of the intestine moves the food downward. 
Three different alkahne digestive juices are found in the 
small intestine, — bile secreted by the hver, pancreatic 
juice secreted by the pancreas, and intestinal juice 
secreted by the intestines. 

The pancreatic juice is by far the most important of all 
the digestive juices and carries on the main work of diges- 
tion. It is secreted by the pancreas, enters the intestine 
about one inch from the pyloric or stomach entrance, as 
does also the bile. The food is mixed with the pancreatic 
juice and bile during the entire intestinal digestion. The 
pancreatic juice contains three ferments: steapsin, which 
sphts the fats into fatty acid and glycerin so that they are 
ready for absorption ; amylopsin, or pancreatic ptyaHn, 
which converts starch to maltose ; tr}'psin. which acts on 
the proteins, breaking them into proteoses and peptones, 
and possibly still further. The bile and intestinal juices 
aid and strengthen the power of the pancreatic juice. The 
intestinal juice contains several ferments, — the most im- 
portant being the invertins, which change the sucroses to 
glucoses, so that they can be absorbed and reach the blood. 
The result of intestinal digestion is that all food which the 
indi\ddual is able to digest is dissolved and reduced to a 
form in which it can diffuse through the walls of the intes- 



40 DIGESTION 

tines and be taken up by the blood. Proteins have been 
changed to peptones, and probably by the time they reach 
the blood to serum albumin a^d globulin, carbohydrates 
have been converted into glucoses, fats have been saponified 
and emulsified. 

Work of the Large Intestine. — The indigestible or un- 
digested food remaining in the small intestine passes on 
into the large intestine, where the liquid part of it is absorbed. 
After traversing the large intestine it is expelled from the 
body as waste. If it remains too long in the intestine, fer- 
mentation sets in and the gases formed during the fermenta- 
tion are absorbed into the blood and are harmful to the body. 

Absorption. — The digested food diffuses into the epithe- 
lial cells lining the small intestine, and there in some manner 
yet unknown is made ready to enter the blood. The work 
is probably done by special ferments. Fat is probably 
reconstructed into neutral fat, but at any rate it is taken 
up by the lacteals, carried to the thoracic duct, and poured 
into the blood, which carries it to the cells where it is oxi- 
dized to carbon dioxide and water. 

Glucose is taken by the portal vein to the liver, where it 
is converted into glycogen and stored until needed. When 
needed, it is again converted into glucose, the form in which 
it can circulate, and it enters the blood in a steady stream. 
It is also carried to the cells and completely oxidized, form- 
ing carbon dioxide and water. 

The peptones, changed to body albumin, are taken by 
the blood to the cells. The plasma of the blood contains 
albumin, mineral matter, and water, and it diffuses through 
the capillaries and bathes the cells. Each cell takes what it 
needs for building material. Oxygen is brought to the cells 
by the red corpuscles, and the albumin of the cells is broken 



DIGESTION 41 

down by oxidation, and new cells are built out of the ma- 
terial brought by the plasma. 

The building up and breaking down of the cells is called 
metabolism. The final decomposition products of cell 
metaboHsm are carbon dioxide, water, and urea. The 
carbon dioxide is carried back to the lungs. The other waste 
products are removed through the lymph. The organs of 
eHmination are the skin, kidneys, lungs, and large intestine. 

Alkalinity of the Blood. — Certain mineral substances 
are present in all the tissues and fluids of the body, and 
in nearly all foods. They are essential for the life and 
growth of the tissues and for all the vital processes of the 
body. Several of these elements are combined with carbon, 
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen to form the solid part of 
the tissues of the body, as sulphur in all proteins ; phos- 
phorus in phosphoalbumin, and lecithoprotein ; iron in 
chromoprotein. The tissues could not exist without them. 
The blood contains sodium, potassium, calcium, magne- 
sium, in the form of carbonates, phosphates, and chlorides. 

Most foods contain these elements in varying amounts ; 
and it will be remembered that all foods are decomposed in 
the body into simpler compounds, and that during metab- 
oHsm the cells are oxidized and that various end products 
are formed. 

These decomposition products are either acid or alkahne 
in reaction, and so we may call certain foods acid-forming, or 
base-forming, according to the predominance of certain 
elements in them. Foods having a predominance of chlo- 
rine, sulphur, or phosphorus are acid-forming foods ; those 
having a predominance of sodium, potassium, calcium, and 
magnesium are base-forming. In general it may be said 
that meats of all kinds, eggs, and cereals belong to the first 



42 DIGESTION 

class ; and fruits, green vegetables, legumes, and milk, to 
the second class. 

All these elements must be supplied to the body because 
they are all essential to life, growth, and health of the body ; 
but the base-forming elements should be supplied in greater 
abundance, because the blood and tissues are slightly alka- 
line in reaction and the acidity of the urine must be con- 
trolled. 

One of the oxidation products, carbon dioxide, is re- 
moved from the cells by the blood plasma. The soda and 
potash in the blood dissolve the carbon dioxide so that it 
is carried to the lungs and removed from the body. If the 
alkalies, soda and potash, were not present in sufficient 
amounts to neutralize the acids, the carbon dioxide could 
not be dissolved, and it would remain in the tissues and 
cause tissue suffocation. If not enough base-forming ele- 
ments are supplied in the foods the alkalies are withdrawn 
from the tissues, secretions, and excretions, and the nitrog- 
enous end products are not broken down to urea, and 
tissue poisoning results. 

During the oxidation of cells, tissues, and nitrogenous 
foods containing sulphur, phosphorus, and chlorine, acids 
are formed, and base-forming substances must be present 
in sufficient quantity to neutralize them. 

Green vegetables and fruits contain the base-forming ele- 
ments in abundance. In green vegetables they are present 
in the form of salts ; in fruits, in the form of vegetable acids. 
A vegetable acid is an organic acid usually combined with 
potash or calcium in the form of potassium citrate, potas- 
sium tartrate, calcium citrate; and during oxidation they 
are converted into alkaline carbonates, as carbonate of 
potassium, and so help to render the blood alkaUne. 



CHAPTER IV 

NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS. 
DIGESTIBILITY 

Nutritive and Fuel Value of Foods. — If the uses of 
food to the body are to build tissue and yield energy, 
the all-important question is, how much of each food is 
needed to supply these demands and in what propor- 
tion can they best serve the physiological needs of the 
body? 

The value of any food to the body depends on three 
things, — the amount of nitrogen which it contains in 
the form of protein, the amount of heat which it will yield 
on combustion, and its ease and completeness of digestion, 
— in other words, its digestibility. 

Amount of Protein Needed. — To be able to build tissue 
a food must contain nitrogen in a form available for use 
in the body. The proteins alone contain nitrogen in this 
form, and hence they are of first importance in food value, 
because they are the only foods available for tissue build- 
ing. 

The first question to determine, then, is, how much protein 
must be eaten to supply the needs of the body for building 
and repair of tissues. As practically all the protein di- 
gested is oxidized, either before it reaches the cells or in cell 
metabolism, and as its nitrogenous waste product leaves 

43 



44 NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 

the body in the form of urea, the daily loss of nitrogen can 
be readily calculated, and this loss would show just how 
much protein - is oxidized daily in the body, and how 
much would be needed to replace it. The daily intake of 
nitrogen, in the form of protein, should at least equal the 
amount of nitrogen excreted in the urea. This is called 
maintaining nitrogenous equilibrium. 

Probably no more extensive and valuable studies have 
been made in human nutrition than those made in protein 
requirements. The conclusions drawn by the American 
experimenters will be given in this chapter ; but it may be 
said here that the question as to how much protein is 
required by the average person is not so easily settled as is 
that of energy- yielding foods. 

Experiments show that if the amount of nitrogen taken 
in, in the form of protein, is below a given amount, more 
nitrogen is excreted than is taken in the food. This would 
mean that the tissues are being used up and that there is 
a loss of bodily weight. If the normal bodily weight 
remains the same, and the amount of nitrogen taken in 
equals the amount excreted, nitrogenous equilibrium is 
maintained, and that should be the amount of protein 
needed by that individual. The amount of nitrogen lost 
is a fairly constant quantity, and does not appreciably 
increase with muscular exercise or work; and so when it 
is once determined for an individual, the protein require- 
ments can be determined. 

Atwater's experiments and calculations show that a man 
engaged in moderately active muscular work excretes i8 
grams of nitrogen daily. A protein food is about i6 per 
cent nitrogen, which would mean that to supply this man 
with the amount of nitrogen needed to maintain nitrog- 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 45 

enous equilibrium, he would have to consume about 112 
grams of digestible protein (16 per cent of 112 grams pro- 
tein = 18 grams nitrogen) or about 4 ounces protein (28.4 
grams = i ounce.) for growth and repair of tissue. As a 
gram of protein yields about 4 calories, 112 grams would 
equal 448 calories of protein to be consumed daily. (For 
ease in calculating 450 calories are used.) 

Chittenden, who has made some valuable studies in 
nutrition and conducted many experiments, arrived at the 
conclusion that the average person consumes too much 
protein, and that 60 grams, or 240 calories, daily will supply 
the needs of the average worker. Langworthy and Sher- 
man agree that 100 grams are needed by the person engaged 
in moderately active muscular work. Atwater's conclu- 
sions, drawn after years of exhaustive dietary studies and 
practical investigations, do not differ greatly from Lang- 
worthy's and Sherman's, and it seems best to abide by these 
decisions until more conclusive evidence is given that 
growing or working men can maintain health, strength, and 
resistant power on a lower intake of protein. 

Fuel Value of Foods. — The body needs a certain amount 
of food daily to supply it with the energy needed to main- 
tain normal bodily temperature and for work and muscular 
activity, since all the energy used in the body, or by the 
body, comes from the food eaten. Even when a persen is 
in a warm room, the body receives no heat from outside 
sources, but not so much heat is lost to the surrounding 
air. Clothing does not keep the body warm, but prevents 
loss of heat ; the greater the surface of skin, or body exposed 
to the air, the greater will be the loss of heat. It is impor- 
tant to remember this when considering the question of dress 
for summer and winter, — that is, that all bodily heat comes 



46 NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 

from the food eaten and digested, and that if Httle clothing 
is worn in cold weather, the body must produce enough 
heat to make good the loss. If not enough food is taken to 
produce the energy needed to maintain normal bodily tem- 
perature (98.6° F.), and for vital processes, the tissues 
will be oxidized for that purpose. 

All organic foods, namely, proteins, fats, and carbohy- 
drates, yield energy when oxidized, but in varying amounts 
and hence have different food values. Experiments have 
been made to show what percentages of the various foods 
are digested and how much escapes digestion. The figures 
showing the coefficient of digestibility of the various foods 
will be given later. Experiments have also been made 
which show how much energy the foods will yield when 
oxidized in the body. 

Excepting the amount of food which escapes digestion, it 
is found that the various foods will yield the same amount 
of heat when oxidized inside the body as they do when 
oxidized outside the body. Experiments with the bomb 
calorimeter in which foods are burned, and the heat evolved 
is measured, have given a way to measure the fuel value of 
the various foods. The amount of heat given off during 
oxidation is measured, and this shows the potential energy 
of the food. Account may then be taken of the difference 
between the amount lost during digestion and the total 
fuel value of the food, and by this method the fuel value of 
all foods can be ascertained. 

The unit for measuring heat is the calorie, the amount 
of heat required to raise one pound of water 4° F. It is 
estimated that the fuel value of one pound of protein or 
carbohydrate is 1820 calories, and one pound of fat 4040 
calories, when oxidized in the body. 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 47 



Energy actually Available to the Body 



Protein 
Carbohydrate 
Fat . . . 



I Gram 



4 Cal. 
4 Cal. 
9 Cal. 



I Ounce 



114 Cal. 
114 Cal. 
253 Cal. 



I Pound 



1820 Cal. 
1820 Cal. 
4040 Cal. 



When oxidized in the calorimeter one pound of protein or 
carbohydrate yields i860 Cal. and one pound of fat yields 
4220 Cal. The difference is due to losses in digestion. 

Proteins as FueL — It will be seen from these figures 
that the proteins, in addition to repairing muscular waste, 
may also be oxidized for energy. As proteins are needed 
for the first purpose, and are the only foods that can build 
tissue, the fats and carbohydrates are termed protein 
sparers and should be supplied in the right proportion and 
quantity, so that the proteins will not be oxidized as fuel. 
Proteins are the most expensive foods, and they form high- 
priced fuel; fats and carbohydrates are abundant in the 
cheaper foods. Then, too, fats and carbohydrates are com- 
pletely oxidized in the body, leaving no waste substance, 
while the proteins leave the nitrogenous waste, urea, 
entaihng extra work on the excretory organs to rid the sys- 
tem of it. From this it will be seen that it is of first impor- 
tance that the fats and carbohydrates should be furnished 
in the right proportion to supply the potential energy 
needed and leave to the proteins the work of tissue build- 
ing. 

Amount of Energy Needed. — Atwater's and other ex- 
periments with the respiration calorimeter have given 
valuable data as to the amount of food needed by different 



48 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 



persons to supply bodily needs. Unlike the amount of 
protein needed, which is a fairly constant quantity in any 
individual, the amount of energy needed is a variable quan- 
tity and increases with work and muscular activity. The 
following are the standards accepted by well-known Amer- 
ican authorities as to the protein, energy, total food re- 
quirements, and nutritive ratio. They are planned for a 
man engaged in moderately active muscular work or, as 
Chittenden expresses it, a man weighing 154 pounds. 



Name 


Protein in 
Grams 


Protein in 
Calories 


Fat and 

Carbohydrate 

IN Calories 


Total in 
Calories 


Ratio 


Atwater . 
Langworthy 
Sherman 
Chittenden . 


112 

100 

100 

60 


450 (nearly) 

400 

400 

240 


2950 
3100 
2600 
2560 


3400 

3500 
3000 
2800 


1:6^ 

1:7! 
i:6| 
1 : 10 



Atwater's calculations as to the amount of nitrogen and 
also as to number of heat units needed by various indi- 
viduals were arrived at after a series of dietary studies 
showing the amount of food actually consumed by normal 
people in various occupations, and of different nationaH- 
ties, and different dietary standards ; also after a series of 
experiments with the respiration calorimeter (described fully 
in Farmer's Bulletin, No. 142, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture) where an account was taken of the heat given off 
from the body, and of work expressed in terms of heat, and of 
loss through excreta. By these methods the actual income 
and expenditure of the body can be estimated or measured 
and the needs known. The needs were found to vary 
with the work, activity, age, and sex, — other factors also 
affecting the requirements. 




Plan of Respiration Calorimeter Laboratory. See Frontispiece. From 
Yearbook, 1904, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 49 

He estimates that a man at absolute rest in bed would 
need 2000 calories daily to supply the imperative needs of 
the body, — namely, to carry on the vital processes of 
respiration, digestion, circulation, etc., and to maintain 
normal bodily temperature. It may be said, then, that 
every man, no matter what his physical condition or 
activity may be, needs 2000 calories daily. Any exer- 
tion, even to sitting up in bed, requires more energy and 
hence calls for more calories of food. From this it will be 
seen that a certain amount of food must be consumed when 
no work is performed and no apparent energy expended. 
If not enough food is taken to supply these demands, as in 
the case of sickness, the tissues are used for this purpose. 

The following table will show how the needs of various 
individuals may be calculated. By counting the number 
of hours spent in various ways during the twenty-four hours 
of the day, the energy needed may be computed. 

Hourly Outgo of Energy from the Human Body as determined 
IN THE Respiration Calorimeter by the U. S. Department 
OF Agriculture 



Average Weight (154 lb.) 



Calories 



Man at Rest (asleep) 
Sitting Up (awake) 
Light Exercise . 
Moderate Exercise 
Severe Exercise 
Very Severe Exercise 



65 
100 
170 
190 

450 
600 



By this method Atwater estimated that a man engaged 
in moderately active muscular work needs about 3400 cal- 
ories of heat daily. As this man would need 112 grams of 

CONLEY, N. & D. — 4 



50 NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 

protein daily, which is equal to 448 calories, he would need 
foods containing fats and carbohydrates in quantity to 
yield 2952 calories, or in proportion of i : 6 J. 

Food requirements differ not only with the amount of 
activity manifested by the individual in different occupa- 
tions during the day, but they also vary according to age, 
sex, and kind of work performed by different individuals. 
The requirements of a man engaged in moderately active 
muscular work are taken as a basis for the requirements of 
others. 

FACTORS USED IN CALCULATING MEALS CONSUMED 
IN DIETARY STUDIES 

Man at moderately active muscular work (Atwater). 

Daily requirement 112 grams (450 Cal.) protein, 3400 total 
calories. 

A man at hard muscular work requires 1.2 the food of a man at 
moderately active muscular work. 

A man with light muscular work and a boy 15 to 16 years old 
each requires 0.9 the food of a man at moderately active muscular 
work. 

A man at sedentary occupation, a woman at moderately active 
work, a boy 13-14, and a girl 15-16 years old each requires 0.8 the 
food of a man at moderately active muscular work. 

A woman at light work, a boy 12, and a girl 13-14 years old 
each requires 0.7 the food of a man at moderately active muscular 
work. 

A boy lo-ii and a girl 11-12 years old each requires 0.6 the food of 
a man at moderately active muscular work. 

A child 6-9 years old requires 0.5 the food of a man at moderately 
active muscular work. 

A child 2-5 years old requires 0.4 the food of a man at moderately 
active muscular work. 

A child under 2 years requires 0.3 the food of a man at moderately 
active muscular work. 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 51 

Nutritive Ratio of Foods. — In the dietary standards 
quoted, it will be noted that the proteins bear a certain 
relation to the fats and carbohydrates, that each man has 
selected according to his judgment or experiments the 
proper ratio in which tissue-building and energy- yielding 
foods should be taken so as to secure the best diet, that is, 
the diet which will produce the greatest efficiency with the 
least nitrogenous waste. Atwater's ratio is i : 6|, Chit- 
tenden's is I : 10. This relation of the proteins to the car- 
bohydrates and fats is called the nutritive ratio or the 
nutrient ratio of foods, and is of value in determining the 
place which any food or any class of foods can take in the 
diet, or whether a meal or ration, when planned, is properly 
balanced. 

The nutritive ratio of any food may be found in two 
ways. It may be found by taking the chemical composi- 
tion of the food as given in the Atwater tables and express- 
ing the ratio of the protein to the carbohydrate plus 
the fat multiplied by 2j, or the fat in terms of carbohydrate. 
The fat must be multiplied by 2| to express it in terms of 
carbohydrate, because when oxidized in the body a pound 
of fat will yield 2 J times as many calories as a pound of 
carbohydrate will yield. 

Example. — Milk contains 3! per cent protein, 4 per cent 
fat, 5 per cent carbohydrate. 3I : 5 plus (4 times 2j) : : i : 4. 
The nutritive ratio of milk, then, is 1:4. This shows that 
milk contains too much protein, in proportion to its carbo- 
hydrate and fat, to be a perfectly balanced food. 

The nutritive ratio may be found in another way. If, 
in addition to caring to know the proportion of tissue- 
building to energy-yielding ingredients in a food, we wish 
also to know its actual fuel value, we may reduce the 



52 NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 

chemical composition proportion to calories, and find the 
ratio, by comparing the protein to the carbohydrate plus 
the fat, all having been reduced to calories. 

Example. — Milk contains 3I per cent protein, 4 per cent 
fat, 5 per cent carbohydrate. If one pound of protein 
yields 1820 calories, 3^ per cent of the milk would yield 
64 calories; 4 per cent of fat would yield 160 calories, 
5 per cent of carbohydrate would yield 91 calories, a 
total of 315 calories in one pound of milk. 

The nutritive ratio would be 64 calories : 160 calories 
plus 91 calories : : i : 4. 

From these figures it will be seen that one pound, or two 
cups, of milk will yield 315 calories, and that it would take 
nearly eleven pounds, or twenty- two cups of milk alone, 
to supply the daily needs for heat and energy of a man 
engaged in moderately active muscular work. One pound 
of milk contains one half ounce of protein, and it would take 
eight pounds of milk to supply the nitrogen needed daily. 
Milk contains so much water, that too great quantities 
would have to be consumed if one were to try to hve on 
milk alone. 

Its nutritive ratio is too high in protein to make it a 
properly balanced food. 

Digestibility. — The third factor which affects the value 
' of any food is its digestibiHty. By this is meant, not ease 
of digestion, but completeness of digestion, or how much 
escapes digestion. A food may contain proper nutritive 
ingredients in the right proportion to supply the needs of 
the body, but because of its structure, or because of the 
changes which have taken place in cooking, or because of 
individual inabihty, the body may not be able to digest 
it. A food is of no use to the body until it has passed out 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 53 

of the intestines into the blood. Only then is it available 
as food. 

Because of this factor, digestibility, it would seem that 
a knowledge of the structure of foods, the effect of heat on 
them, the various physical and chemical changes which 
take place during cooking, and the effect of each on digest- 
ibility is of utmost importance. 

Structure and Cooking. — The starch and protein in 
vegetable cells are inclosed in a wall of cellulose. This 
cellulose is indigestible to man, but is valuable in that it 
furnishes bulk which stimulates the walls of the stomach 
and intestines, aids in bringing out the juices, and increases 
peristaltic movement. Before the inclosed starch or 
protein can be digested some means must be found to free 
it from its cell walls. Cooking will do this by softening the 
walls and by causing the inclosed starch to swell and burst 
the walls. For this reason, cooking is necessary before 
starchy foods can be digested. 

In some foods, as in the legumes, the starch and protein 
and cellulose are so intermixed that the digestive juices 
cannot readily act on the protein, and much escapes diges- 
tion. The heat, which renders starch digestible, renders 
the protein less so. Animal proteins, because they are not 
mixed with other foods, and because they are like the human 
body in structure, are more completely digested than 
vegetable protein; 97 per cent of the former is digestible 
and 87 per cent of the latter. 

Many experiments have been made to test the digesti- 
bility of the various foods. The food taken in and the food 
given off from the large intestine have been weighed 
and analyzed, and the difference between them would 
equal (practically) the amount digested, and available to 



54 NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 

the body. This amount is called the coefficient of digesti- 
bility of the foods. 

The following, taken from Farmer's Bulletin, No. 142, sums 
up the conclusions arrived at by the U. S. Department 
of Agriculture as a result of investigation : " It has been 
found that in the total food of the ordinary mixed diet, on 
the average, about 92 per cent of the protein, 95 per cent 
of the fats, and 97 per cent of the carbohydrates are re- 
tained by the body. In the average proportions in which 
the different animal and vegetable foods are combined in 
the diet about 97 per cent of the protein, 95 per cent of 
the fat, and 98 per cent of the carbohydrate of the animal 
foods are digested ; while only 84 per cent of the protein, 
90 per cent of the fat, and 97 per cent of the carbohydrates 
of the vegetable foods are digested. 

"The digestibility of a given article of food depends 
upon the digestibility of the classes of nutrients, and the 
relative proportion in which these nutrients occur. Thus, 
of two cereals containing about the same amount of dry 
matter, but with different proportions of protein and car- 
bohydrates, the one with the larger proportion of less di- 
gestible protein and the smaller proportion of more digest- 
ible carbohydrates will be, on the whole, less completely 
digested." 

Proportion of Carbohydrates to Fat. — While it has been 
stated that fats and carbohydrates are both sources of 
energy to the body and may be used interchangeably, such 
is not the case, because they vary in digestibility. There is 
a limit to the amount of fat which any individual can digest, 
and while the limit varies with different individuals, fat 
could not be depended on for the total supply of energy. 
On the other hand, the amount of carbohydrates which 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 55 

would supply the energy needed would prove too bulky 
for the digestive organs and would leave too much waste 
or excreta. It has been found that the best proportion 
of fat to carbohydrate, as regards digestibihty, is about 
I to 2^, or I part fat to 2^ parts carbohydrates, by 
weight. 

Mineral Matter. — It is customary to consider only the 
amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrate in the diet, and to 
conclude that if those foods are in the right proportion, they 
will also supply the required amount of mineral matter. 
This would probably be true if foods were taken in their 
natural state, as green vegetables and fruits are eaten, but 
many foods are prepared for the diet in such a way that 
much of the mineral matter is lost. This is true of wheat, 
rice, corn, and the other cereals, and they form 30 per cent 
of our diet. Sugar and fats containing no mineral matter 
would furnish 10 per cent more. It would seem that be- 
cause of the methods of preparing foods for market more 
careful attention should be paid to the quantity of mineral 
matter suppHed. As will be seen by referring to page 
33, mineral matter is as necessary to health as are the or- 
ganic foods, and as it aids all vital processes it can be said 
that it is essential to all vital processes. Oxygen and 
carbon dioxide cannot be carried without it, so it is essen- 
tial for respiration ; it is found in all digestive juices, so it 
is necessary for digestion; it aids absorption and excre- 
tion ; is essential for coagulation ; and no tissue can be 
built without it. The mineral matter needed by the 
body is of too great importance to be left to chance to 
supply. Foods should be selected that contain iron, phos- 
phorus, calcium, and the other elements in greatest 
abundance. 



56 



NUTRITIVE AND FUEL VALUE OF FOODS 



Estimated Amount of Mineral Matter required daily by a 
Man at moderately Active Muscular Work (Langworthy) 



Phosphoric Acid 
Sulphuric Acid 
Potassium Oxide 
Sodium Oxide 
Calcium Oxide 
Magnesium Oxide 
Iron 
Chlorine . 



3-4 grams 
2-3.5 grams 
2-3 grams 
4-6 grams 
.7-1 gram 
.3-. 5 gram 
.006-.012 gram 
6-8 grams 



Foods Richest in Mineral Matter 



Iron 


Phosphorus 


Calcium 


SODHJM 


Potassium 


lima beans, 


navy beans 


almonds 


beans 


beans 


dried 


egg yolk 


beans 


peas 


peas 


navy beans 


peas, dried 


egg yolk 


lentils 


lentils 


peas, dried 


entire wheat 


milk 


eggs 


figs 


entire wheat 


flour 


peas 


spinach 


cocoa 


flour 


peanuts 


oatmeal 


carrots 


molasses 


spinach 


oatmeal 


walnuts 


celery 


bananas 


lean beef 


almonds 


peanuts 


cauliflower 


lemons 


oatmeal 


walnuts 


eggs 


endive 


limes 


raisins 


lean beef 


parsnips 


leeks 


pineapples 


eggs 


eggs 


carrots 


radishes 


oranges 


prunes 


low grade 


oranges 


beets 


apricots 


beef, medium 


flour 


prunes 


turnips 


cherries 


fat 


prunes 


entire wheat 


rutabagas 


apples 


string beans 


milk 


flour 


oatmeal 


nuts 


flour, patent 


rice 


low grade flour 


corn 


rhubarb 


potatoes 


patent flour 


beets 


wheat 


tomato 


corn meal 


parsnips 


potatoes 


raisms 


parsnips 


cabbage 


potatoes 


pineapple 


prunes 


beets 


sweet corn 


turnips 








turnips 











NUTRITIVE AND FUEL V.AXUE OF FOODS 57 

Foods containing Little or No Iron 

All forms of fat, as pork, bacon, lard, butter, olive oil, also 
sugars, starches, candies. 



If enough protein is supplied, there will be enough sul- 
phur in the diet ; sodium and chlorine are supphed in com- 
mon salt. 



CHAPTER V 
THE BALANCED MEAL 

Reasons for Balanced Meals. — All meals, no matter 
how meager, insufficient, or poorly balanced, should have 
some little attention given to their planning for one or 
more reasons. 

Variety in Diet. — The first reason for planning meals is 
to satisfy the hunger of the various members of the family. 
This would be an easy matter if all members were in good 
health, worked all day, and liked most of the foods in the 
market. Hunger is the best sauce, and mere abundance of 
food will soon satisfy a ravenous appetite. Such conditions 
are seldom found, however ; and in many families much 
needless worry and planning are occasioned the housekeeper 
because some members of the family have prejudices 
against certain foods, and what one member is especially 
fond of another may loathe. The prejudices, unless well 
founded, should be overcome, because when the finical 
person is obhged to live away from home, where his peculiar 
tastes cannot be studied and catered to, he is apt to suffer. 
But even when the members of the family are not hard to 
please, the planning of meals requires some thought so as 
to vary the diet and provide the unexpected, as the same 
food, day after day, or on regular days in the week, becomes 
monotonous and loses savor. 

Cost. — A factor which constantly enters into the cal- 
culations when planning meals is cost. This includes 

58 



THE BALANCED MEAL 59 

not only the cost of the food, but the cost of the fuel used 
in cooking and the time and labor spent in the service of the 
meals. The problem of cost of foods is a serious one, is 
threatening to become more serious every year, and de- 
mands greater consideration than most people give it. The 
probabihties are that the increased cost of hving is not due 
to consumption overtaking production, but that people 
demand as necessaries of hfe what were once considered 
luxuries. If some attention and study could be given to the 
factors which enter into the fixing of the market price of 
various foods, and cheaper foods, equally nutritious and 
wholesome, could be substituted for the necessarily high- 
priced foods, it would decrease the cost of living materially. 

Judicious marketing is an art in itself. It impHes a 
knowledge of the proper cuts of meat, their various uses, 
the distinction between a cheap cut with much refuse in the 
form of bone and fat or a higher-priced cut that is nearly all 
flesh ; also a knowledge of the various vegetables, when 
they are in season, in what quantities it is best to purchase 
them, their food value and place in the diet, and the effect 
of size on flavor, time of cooking, and nutritive value. 

There is great need for economy and judicious buying 
in foods as in everything, but there is a marked distinction 
between true and false economy in foods. It is a great 
mistake to stint the table and nourish the family poorly 
and thus lose from the family income many times that 
amount in doctor's bill, medicine, and money spent by 
various members of the family elsewhere to satisfy the 
demands of hunger or a craving for unwholesome food. 

Supply Needs of the Body. — The most important reason 
why meals should be carefully planned is because health, 
strength, and working capacity depend on the food which 



6o THE BALANCED MEAL 

we eat. It is no exaggeration to say that if people under- 
stood and looked after three vital processes, they would 
never be sick ; these processes are breathing, digestion, and 
elimination of waste. Imperfect digestion and assimila- 
tion, and accumulation of waste products in the system are 
the cause of nearly three fourths of all diseases. 

The human body can, under normal conditions, digest 
and assimilate a certain amount of food. If more is taken 
than can be digested, it accumulates as waste. All foods 
undergo chemical change in the body ; they are broken down 
into simpler substances which the body can more easily 
take care of. The decomposition products of proteins are 
removed through the kidneys, and if too much protein food 
is taken, the kidneys are overworked. It has been found 
that there is a certain amount of protein food that an indi- 
vidual needs ; anything in excess of this is harmful because 
it means an unnecessary waste of energy to rid the system 
of it. This can be avoided by a study of the composition 
and digestibility of foods, the bodily needs supplied by 
the various foods, and the amount of each kind of food 
needed by the individual to maintain bodily weight and 
furnish energy needed for work and activity. 

A diet must furnish protein enough to build and repair 
the tissues of the body. The need for protein is greater in 
childhood and youth, than in maturity and old age, because 
the tissues wear out more rapidly in these periods and they 
are also periods of growth. Protein and mineral matter 
should be supplied so that tissues will not suffer and 
growth will not be stunted. Weak, stunted, and diseased 
bodies are more apt to be due to insufhcient and poorly 
balanced meals than to inherited weakness. Mother 
Nature is too often blamed for imperfection, when a little 



THE BALANCED MEAL 6i 

knowledge of the needs and demands of the growing body, 
and what foods would supply these demands, would have 
prevented the weakness or deformity. 

Much is said and written about the excessive consump- 
tion of protein foods. While men may consume excessive 
amounts of protein, observation and dietary studies show 
that the average girl and working woman do not consume 
enough protein, but consume excessive amounts of starchy 
foods and sugar. For this reason, vitality and resistant 
power are lower than they should be. Then, too, iron, 
phosphorus, and calcium, the former needed in greater 
quantities by growing girls and women than by men, are 
lacking in the starchy foods and sugar, but are abundant in 
protein foods, and in green vegetables and fruits. If 
this statement as to the diet of working girls and women 
seems exaggerated, one has but to observe the meals 
ordered in cafes and restaurants in cities where women take 
their meals. There is a marked difference between the 
lunches ordered by a man and by a woman, and the dif- 
ference is not so much that of quantity, which would be 
natural, but in the predominance of proteins in the man's 
meal, and of sugar and starchy foods in the woman's. 

The diet must contain enough fat and carbohydrate to 
maintain temperature, and for energy to carry on the 
vital processes, and for work and activity. It must 
contain sufficient bulk in the form of cellulose to stimu- 
late the intestine so that the intestinal juice will be 
secreted in the proper amount, also to stimulate the mus- 
cular walls so that the food will move rapidly enough so 
that putrefaction will not take place and the indigestible 
food can be expelled from the body. It must contain 
sufficient water to supply the needs of the tissues and fluids 



62 THE BALANCED MEAL 

«." 
of the body and to aid in the elimination of waste through 

the excretory organs. It should have enough mineral 

matter to supply the needs of the tissues and fluids and to 

maintain normal alkahnity of the blood and tissues. It 

must not be too difficult to digest, or it will overtax the 

digestive organs. Indigestibility may be due to the food 

itself, to the method or manner of cooking, or to the mental 

or physical condition of the individual. 

People suffering from nervous troubles have difficulty 
in digesting foods, and the trouble is augmented by the fact 
that they do not take. in enough food to feed the starved 
nerves and build up the system, or to give energy. Nervous 
indigestion is not cured by taking liquid foods or small 
quantities of food, but by building up the general health 
and by decreasing nerve strain. General health is improved 
by a good, wholesome, easily digested, and balanced daily 
ration. 

It would seem that too much attention is given to the 
overfeeding of the better classes and not enough emphasis 
laid on the pernicious underfeeding and excessive consump- 
tion of baker's bread and other starchy foods and sugar, by 
the middle and lower classes. Enormous quantities of 
bakeshop food are sold to people who do not know the 
needs of the body for building material and who desire to 
satisfy the appetite at the lowest cost and in the quickest 
and easiest way. 

Wheat made into white flour has lost over two thirds of 
its mineral matter and over 2 percent protein in milling; 
and from dietary studies made by Langworthy it would 
seem that white flour furnishes over 10 per cent of our 
diet, and refined corn products furnish over 8 per cent. 

Even though meat, butter, eggs, and milk are high- 



THE BALANCED MEAL 63 

priced they are cheap when compared with the cost of medi- 
cine, medical attention, and loss of wages during sickness 
occasioned by underfeeding. Tuberculosis, the disease 
responsible for one third of all deaths in America, be- 
tween the ages of 15 and 45, is due to under nutrition and 
lack of protein foods, as well as to foul air and tuberculosis 
germs. 

Men have greater resistant power than women, more 
energy, more vitality, less sickness. This is due, in part 
at least, to the fact that they eat wholesome and nutritious 
foods in quantity to supply the needs of the body, when 
- they can get it, and consume but Httle sugar. It is noted 
that women with strong vitality and energy consume much 
the same diet as men, though not in as great quantities, 
while those with less vitality consume more starchy foods, 
especially foods lacking in mineral matter. Why may not 
the increased vitality be due to proper diet, instead of the 
taste for wholesome foods being due to bodily vigor? 
At any rate, the taste for nutritious foods could easily be 
cultivated if the general effect of such a diet on health 
were known and heeded. 

Practical Value of Balanced Meals. — The question 
might be asked, of what practical value to the busy house- 
keeper is the planning of meals, and can any family live 
according to a standard set arbitrarily? 

It does not mean that any dietary standard should be 
selected, and all members of the family compelled to Hve 
according to that standard. It will be found, however, 
that the Atwater standard is ample for all needs, that a little 
less than the standard may sufifice some, but that if a family 
attempts to live according to a standard it will soon become 
accustomed to it and adopt it. Standards are not arbitrary 



64 THE BALANCED MEAL 

figures, but guides to the best means of supplying the needs 
of the body. They are made for those who must take 
the knowledge and investigations of men who have devoted 
their lives to the study of questions of nutrition, until they 
can find out that certain changes are necessary. 

The planning of balanced meals is a method of conducting 
the business of housekeeping on an accurate and scentific 
basis, and that is the basis on which every other business 
is conducted. First, it lessens the cost of the meal. If the 
amount actually needed by each individual is prepared and 
served, there will be no waste, and from the dietary studies 
made by Langworthy it was found that in the average 
American home " waste ranges from nothing to 20 per cent 
of the total food." 

When the amount to be spent on a meal is decided on, 
more attention is paid to the cost of such items as fruit, 
cream, butter, meat, etc., and goods are purchased in 
season, and in quantities so as to save expense. The table 
of nutritive values is studied, and less expensive foods, 
equally nutritious, are substituted for the high-priced foods. 

Second, the planning of balanced meals saves time in 
preparation. When meals are planned one day or more 
ahead, time and labor are economized in marketing and in 
preparation, because they are planned with reference to 
other meals, and many foods are prepared the day before 
they are to be used. 

More important still, when meals are planned according 
to some accepted standard to serve the food requirements 
of the body, a study may be made as to how such meals 
satisfy the sense of hunger and please the taste, for that is 
the first demand of the meal. It can be ascertained whether 
the members of the family are gaining or losing weight. 




Loin 




Fore quarter 





Hind quarter 

Cuts of Mttton 



THE BALANCED MEAL 65 

whether strength and working power are maintained, and 
if the resistant power of the body to colds and common 
diseases is strong. The effect of the diet on the organs of 
ehmination can be ascertained. Constipation is one of the 
causes of low vitality, feeble resistant power, appendicitis, 
liver and intestinal troubles, because the blood and muscles 
become saturated with decomposition products, as gases 
and poisons, which are absorbed by the capillaries of the 
large intestine and enter the blood ; it can be remedied by 
diet. 

, Properly balanced meals which serve the food require- 
ments of each individual will maintain a person in perfect 
health for a normal life, if pure air is supplied, and waste 
products are properly eliminated from the body. 



CONLEY, N. & D. — % 



CHAPTER VI 
PLANNING OF MEALS 

For the purpose of this book, it matters little what 
dietary standard is used in planning meals. When the 
method of planning is learned, each person can decide for 
himself which standard to follow. The important point 
is to learn how to plan meals easily, quickly, and accurately 
according to any standard. 

The meals should supply all the needs of the body and 
satisfy the sense of hunger. They should be attractive, ap- 
petizing, and planned so that they may be served in a simple 
manner. The cost of meals should be moderate. Most 
of the drudgery of housework results from an attempt to 
serve too many different kinds of foods at a meal and to 
serve the food in too many courses. If one person is pre- 
paring and serving the meal, it is difficult for her to get 
all foods prepared at the right time and to keep them warm 
until needed ; and when many courses are served, there is 
an increase in the number of dishes to be washed. A few 
foods, well cooked and served in a dainty and appetizing 
form, please better than a dozen poorly cooked foods served 
cold when they should be served hot./ 

The serving should be taught in siich a manner that it 
can be practiced in any home, the object of all the work in 
the school being to improve home conditions, and for this 
reason all directions are given in terms that the average 
girl can understand. 

66 



PLANNING OF MEALS 67 

Nothing is said of the 100- calorie portion, or method of 
planning meals, because while that method is useful in 
planning meals for individuals or to show graphically the 
amount of nutrients in a portion of food, it is of Httle value 
to the busy housekeeper who is planning the family meals. 

All values are given in pounds, not grams, because the 
gram means nothing to a person outside of a chemical lab- 
oratory. Foods are bought and sold by the pound, and the 
scales used in the home weigh pounds. 

For the same reason — f amiharity — all temperatures 
used are Fahrenheit. Until the Centigrade thermometer 
is used in the home it is useless and confusing to give 
temperatures which the average girl cannot translate. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING MEALS 

Planning a Breakfast 

A breakfast should consist of, — 
I. Fruit in some form, preferably fresh. 

II. Cereal, best from the whole of the grain, and cheapest if pur- 
chased unprepared for use. 

III. Some protein dish, as eggs, fish, hash, or a small quantity of 

meat. Unless eggs are very high in price they are always 
better and cheaper than meat for breakfast. 

IV. Some form of bread, as toast, bread, muffins, biscuit, popovers, 

griddle cakes, rolls, etc. 
V. A hot drink, as coffee or cocoa, if desired. 

The cost of the food should not exceed eight cents per 
person, and the meal may be planned so that the cost will 
not exceed five cents per person. Fruits and eggs should 
be served in season, for then the prices are moderate. 
Uncooked breakfast foods cost less than half what pre- 
pared foods cost, and they may be cooked in the fireless 



68 PLANNING OF MEALS 

cooker the day before, thus saving time in preparation. 
Dried fruits, as dates, figs, and prunes, may be chopped and 
added to the cereal. 

Toast, rolls, and griddle cakes take less time to prepare 
than muffins, popovers, and biscuits. 

A breakfast should not take more than thirty minutes to 
prepare. This should include laying the table and all 
preparatory work. Unless in case of sickness, all members 
of the family should eat breakfast together. If several 
breakfasts must be prepared, it adds to the labors of the 
housekeeper. No child should be allowed to go to school 
without breakfast. 

Planning a Dinner 

A dinner should consist of, — 

I. Meat. May be served as roast, stew, meat loaf, meat pie, or 

in any other convenient form. 
II. Potatoes and one other vegetable, as peas, beans in fresh form, 

a root or tuber, or one of the green vegetables that require 

cooking. These may be served mashed, creamed, fried, 

scalloped, or baked. Bread. 

III. Salad, when possible. It should be a green vegetable with some 

kind of salad dressing. Heavy salads should not be served 
with dinner, but may form the principal dish at lunch or 
supper. 

IV. Dessert. 

V. Tea or coffee, if desired. 

Soup is not necessary at dinner and may well be omitted, 
as it takes some extra work to prepare it and it is hard to 
keep the remainder of the dinner in condition while soup 
is being served unless some one is in the kitchen. 

The cost of dinner will range from ten to sixteen cents a 
person. It depends primarily on the amount spent for meat. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 69 

Planning Lunch or Supper 

A lunch, served at noon when dinner is served at night, or supper 
should consist of, — 

I. A hot meat dish, as chops, meat pie, etc. ; or a cheese dish, as 
macaroni and cheese, cheese fondue,, or rarebit ; or cold meat ; 
or a salad ; or a cream soup. 
II. Potatoes. Bread. 

III. Sauce and some form of cake. 

IV. Tea, cocoa, or milk, if desired. 

' As will be seen by referring to the table of " Calories 
per Recipe," page 100, a cream soup contains enough nu- 
trients to supply the food requirements for lunch or supper, 
if served with bread. 

Lunch or supper should cost from six to ten cents per 
person. 

The standard used in planning -meals is the Atwater 
standard for food requirements for a man engaged in mod- 
erately active muscular work. Atwater estimated that 
such a man would require 450 calories protein, 2950 cal- 
ories fat and carbohydrate. 

One fourth of this amount would make a fair proportion 
for breakfast or supper, and one half the amount for 
dinner. Some people eat a very light breakfast and a 
heavy dinner and supper ; some prefer the heavy meal at 
night or dinner, and a light breakfast and supper, or lunch. 
It is not necessary that every meal should be balanced, 
though it is desirable, but the daily ration should supply 
the right number of calories in the right proportion. 

If the Atwater standard is taken as a basis, or any 
standard for that matter, by using the table on page 50, 
the amount of food needed by the different members of 
the family can be ascertained. The sum of the require- 



70 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



ments of the members of the family will be the amount 
to be prepared, and the food may be served in the portions 
required. 

To simpHfy the work of calculating dietaries, a table has 
been prepared showing the calories per pound in the com- 
mon foods. All calculations for meals can be made on the 
basis of a pound or ounce or the fractions thereof. A few 
common recipes, as biscuit, mufhns, bread, pie crust, etc., 
have been worked out and are given in the table, 'Calories 
per Recipe." (See page loo.) 

The number of calories in any food not given in the table 
may be found by multiplying 1820 by the percentage com- 
position of protein or carbohydrate, and 4040 by the per- 
centage composition of fat ; the figures given above are 
the number of calories in a pound of protein, fat, or carbo- 
hydrate. 

Bulletin No. 28, Office of Experiment Stations, Wash- 
ington, D.C., contains tables showing the percentage com- 
position of all foods in use in the average home. Farmers' 
Bulletin, No. 142, also gives the composition of many of 
the common foods. This bulletin may be obtained free of 
charge from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

A few measurements that will be found useful in planning 
and preparing meals are given to simplify the work of cal- 
culating. A table grouping foods according to equivalent 
nutritive values is supplied so that substitutions may be 
suggested to the housekeeper. 

At the close of the chapter a few sample menus are given 
that were prepared and served according to the plans formu- 
lated in this book. They were part of the domestic science 
work of a class of students. Each student was given a 
certain amount of money with which to purchase the 



PLANNING OF MEALS 71 

food. She planned and balanced the meals, did the mar- 
keting, cooking, serving, and washed the dishes afterwards, 
leaving the kitchen and dining room in order. Each girl 
was responsible for three meals. The meals were served 
to fellow students and teacher as guests. The practice and 
training form the most valuable part of a domestic science 
course, as the pupils are limited in money and in time spent 
in preparing the meal to the same limitations which exist 
in the average home. 

FOODS GROUPED ACCORDING TO FAIRLY EQUIVALENT 
NUTRITIVE VALUES 

Roots and Tubers. Food value. Carbohydrate and mineral matter. 
Include potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, rutabagas, turnips, 
beets, parsnips, celeriac, artichokes, etc. Served boiled, mashed, 
creamed, scalloped, fried. 
Cereals. Food Value. Protein and carbohydrate in proportion of 
about 1 : 6. Include wheat, oats, corn, rye, barley, rice, buck- 
wheat. Prepared mostly as flours, meals, and breakfast foods. 
Legumes. Food value. Protein and carbohydrate in proportion of 
about 1:3. 

Include peas, beans, lentils, peanuts. 

Contain so much protein that they are a substitute for meat. 
Served boiled, creamed, in soups, and in other forms. 
Green Vegetables. Food value. Chiefly in the mineral salts and 
ceUulose. 

Include celery, lettuce, cucumbers, endive, cress, cabbage, 
tomatoes, spinach, green corn, egg plant, salsify, squash, Brussels 
sprouts, etc. 

First seven are best served green as salad. All but lettuce, 
endive, and cress may be boiled and served in various ways. 
Fresh Frltits. Food value. Mostly in the vegetable acids. 

Include apples, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, grapes, bananas, 
berries, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, etc. 

Served fresh, also canned and used as sauce, etc. 



72 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



Dried Fruits. Food value. Mostly sugar and cellulose. 
Include figs, dates, raisins, currants, fresh fruits dried. 
Served in a variety of forms. 
Fats. Nutritive value in the fat. 

Include all animal fats, as butter, lard, etc., also vegetable 
fats, as olive oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, corn oil, cocoa fat, and 
butterine, and other prepared fats. 
Milk. Food value. Protein, carbohydrate and fat in proportion of 

1:4. 
Cheese. Food value. Protein and fat, in proportion of 1:2^. 

Substitute for meat. 
Meats. Food value. Mostly protein. They all contain fat in 
varying amounts, and much fat is lost in cooking or is not served, 
so the nutritive ratio cannot be given. 

Served as steaks, chops, roasts, stews, or as meat loaf, etc. 
Fish. Food value. Same as meat. 

Served boiled, fried, baked, creamed, and in other forms. 

Measurements tor Planning Meals 



Flour, sifted . 
Flour, unsifted 
Sugar . . . 
Butter . 
Lard . 
Oatmeal . 
Cream of Wheat 
Shredded Wheat 
Milk . . . 
Cream . 
Eggs . . . 



Quantity in One Lb. 


Quantity in One Oz. 


34 cups 


3! tablespoons 


3 cups 


3 tablespoons 


2 cups 


2 tablespoons 


2 cups 


2 tablespoons 


2 cups 


2 tablespoons 


4 cups 


4 tablespoons 


2 cups 


2 tablespoons 


16 biscuits 


I biscuit 


2 cups (about) 


2 tablespoons 


2 cups (about) 


2 tablespoons 


9 large 


I egg i| oz. 



Quantity in one pound 



Oranges, 2 large, as purchased. 
Apples, 4 medium, as purchased. 
Bananas, 4 medium, as purchased. 
Potatoes, 2 large, as purchased. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 73 

The following meals were planned and served by girls 
over fifteen years of age ; each meal was planned for six 
people. 

The amount required was first ascertained ; then the 
meals were planned to furnish the required amount. The 
amount needed for six girls was then prepared, served in 
equal portions, and consumed. 

All calculations were made on the basis of a pound or 
ounce or fraction thereof. Meat and fish were weighed 
as purchased, vegetables were weighed as prepared for 
cooking. 

Girls over fifteen years of age would require to of the 
standard accepted. According to the Atwater standard 
they would require 360 calories protein, and 2360 calories 
fat and carbohydrate daily. One fourth of this amount, 
90 calories protein, and 590 calories fat and carbohydrate, 
would be the amount prepared for breakfast, lunch, or 
supper, and one half of this amount, 180 calories protein, 
and 1 180 calories fat and carbohydrate, for dinner. 

In the meals given in the following pages this proportion 
was followed as closely as possible. 

The meals in the last menu were divided so as to furnish 
a heavier meal for supper and a lighter meal for dinner than 
in the preceding menus. The total calories are the same, 
however. 

In several breakfast menu's the time for preparation is 
given to show how the detailed work is planned and carried 
out. It is not considered necessary to give the plan of 
work for each meal. 



74 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



DAILY MENUS 

Standard: 360 Calories Protein, 2360 Calories Fat and 

Carbohydrate 

I for breakfast, ^ for dinner, I for supper 

Menu Number One 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


85 

178 
90 


596 
I181 

574 




353 


2351 



Menu Number Two 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner • • \ • • • • 
Supper . . \ . . . . 


88 

183 
90 


589 
I176 

594 


\ 


361 


2359 



Menu Number Three 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


90 

175 

91 


583 
1 189 

598 




356 


2370 



PLANNING OF MEALS 
Menu Number Four 



75 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


87 
180 

94 


593 

1166 

607 




361 


2366 



Menu Number Five 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


88 

183 

89 


593 
1178 

587 




360 


2358 



Menu Number Six 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


86 

194 

83 


584 
1 184 

596 




363 


2364 



Menu Nimiber Seven 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


90 

184 

83 


590 
1 184 

587 




357 


2361 



\ for breakfast, ^q for dinner, -^ for supper 



76 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



Menu Number Eight 





Calories Protein 


Calories Fat and 
Carbohydrate 


Breakfast 

Dinner 

Supper 


82 
161 
117 


589 
1008 

759 




360 


2356 



MENU 
BREAKFAST 

Bananas 
Wheat Breakfast Food and Cream 
Creamed ^Iried Beef Biscuit 
* Coffee 



Food 



Bananas .... 
Wheat Breakfast Food 

Cream 

Milk 

Dried Beef 
White Sauce . 

Sugar 

Butter 

Coffee 

Biscuits .... 
Total . . 



Quantity 



12 iL»- 
6 OZ. 
4 OZ. 
4 OZ. 

8 OZ. 

1 R. 

2 OZ. 
2 OZ. 
I OZ. 

IR. 



Calories 
Protein 



36 
69 
12 

15 

240 

37 



98 



509 



Calories 
Fat 



36 

27 

187 

41 
140 

297 

429 
341 



1^498^ 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



573 
506 

21 
23 

89 
228 



641 



2081 



For six people : 509 Cal. Protein. 

_-3579 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Per person : 85 Cal. Protein. 

596 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



77 



Breakfast to be served at 7.30 a.m. 
7.10 — Make biscuit. 
7.15 — Take wheat from fireless cooker and put it on the stove, 

set table, put on fruit. 
7.25 — Make coffee. 
7.30 — Serve breakfast. 

Cost $.48. 

TIME FOR PREPARATION 

Bananas — i min. 

Wheat flakes (day before) in fireless cooker. 

Dried beef — 10 min. 

Biscuit — 20 min. 

Coffee — 5 min. 



MENU 



DINNER 



Beef Loaf 
Browned Potatoes 

Fruit Salad 
Washington Pie 



Tomato Sauce 

Creamed Onions 
Bread 

Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Beef Loaf 

Tomato Sauce 

Potatoes 

Onions 

White Sauce .... 

Oranges 

Bananas 

Salad D 

Bread 

Butter 

Cake 

Cream 

Sugar 

Coffee 


IR. 

I R. 

2ilb. 
ir\ lb. 

1 R. 
lilb. 

fib. 
^R. 
8 oz. 

2 oz. 

|R. 

6 oz. 
2 oz. 
I oz. 


41 
90 

38 

44 
21 
18 
36 
84 
2 
86 
17 


1562 
441 

9 
16 

296 
10 
18 

232 
26 
428 
286 
280 


48 
186 

738 
216 
130 
263 
286 
72 
482 

808 

31 

227 


Total . . . 




1067 


3604 


3487 



Per person: 178 Cal. Protein; 1181 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.72, 



78 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 

SUPPER 

Cold Roast Pork Potatoes in Half Shell 

Bread 

Canned Peaches Plain Cake 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Pork . . 
Potatoes . 
Bread . . 
Plain cake 
Peaches 
Sugar . 
Butter . . 
Milk . . 
Frosting . 










I lb. 

I lb. 

12 OZ. 

|R. 

1 lb. 

2 OZ. 
2 OZ. 

8 OZ. 
iR. 


282 
40 

125 
42 
13 

2 

6 


586 

4 
40 

143 
4 

428 
81 


328 

725 
404 
179 
228 

46 

227 


Total 






540 


1286 


2155 



For six people : 540 Cal. Protein. 

3441 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

For one person : 90 Cal. Protein. 

574 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



79 



MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Baked Apples 

Oatmeal and Cream 

Scrambled Eggs and Muffins 

Coffee 



Food 



Baked apples 
Oatmeal . 
Cream . 
MUk . . 
Eggs — . — . — 
Muffins 
Sugar . 
Butter . . 
Coffee . 

Total 



Quantity 



illb. 

6 oz. 

4 oz. 

4 oz. 
12 oz. 

1 R. 

2 oz. 

i§ oz. 

I 2 oz. 



Calories 
Protein 



II 

114 

12 

15 

179 
197 



530 



Calories 
Fat 



30 
III 
187 

42 
282 
624 

320 



1596 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



356 

451 
22 

23 

228 



1935 



For six people : 530 Cal. Protein. 

3531 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Per person : 88 Cal. Protein. 

589 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



TIME FOR PREPARATION 

Baked apples, prepared the day before. 
Oatmeal cooked in fireless cooker the night before. 
Muffins — 30 min. 
Coffee — 5 min. 
Scrambled eggs — 5-10 min. 

Breakfast to be served at 7.30. Start breakfast at 7.00. 

Cost, $.50. 



8o 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



Leg of Lamb 
Squash 



MENU 

DINNER 

Riced Potatoes 
Cabbage Salad 
Bread 



Banana Pie 



Coffee 



Food 



Lamb . 
Cabbage . 
Squash 
Bananas . 
Potato . 
Eggs . . 
Sugar . 
Cream . 
Bread . 
Salad . 
Butter 
MUk . . 
Pie crust . 
Corn starch 
Total 



Quantity 



2ilb. 

1 lb. 

i| lb. 

8 oz. 
2Ub. 

9 oz, 

12 oz. 

9 oz. 
4 oz. 

2 oz. 

^ R 

3 ^• 

I oz. 



Calories 
Protein 



650 
25 
39 
12 

100 
52 

34 
94 
36 

4 

7 

44 



1097 



Calories 
Fat 



1235 
8 

30 
12 
10 
82 

560 
30 

232 

858 
20 

513 



3590 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



97 
246 
191 
820 

1023 
61 

542 
72 

II 

303 
102 



3468 



Per person: 183 Cal. Protein; 11 76 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.90. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



8i 



MENU 

SUPPER 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese 

Lettuce and Egg Salad 

Bread 

Canned Pears Cake 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Macaroni 

Cheese 

Lettuce 

Cake 

Pears 

Bread 

Butter 

White sauce (no butter) 

Salad dressing 

Eggs 


lib. 

A lb. 

8 oz. 

f R- 

1 lb. 
8 oz. 

2 OZ. 

i^R. 

^R. 

8 oz. 


62 

88 
II 
64 

9 
84 

2 
66 

37 
119 


9 

255 

6 
214 
16 
26 
429 
232 
232 
188 


337 
8 
26 
606 
231 
483 

196 

72 


Total .... 




542 


1607 


1959 



Per person : 90 Cal. Protein ; 594 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



CONLEY, N. & D. 



82 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Oranges 

Cream of Wheat and Cream 

Omelet Muffins 

Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Cream of wheat . 


6 oz. 


83 


27 


513 


Oranges . 








2ilb. 


32 


17 


448 


Cream . 












4 oz. 


12 


187 


21 


Milk . 












4 oz. 


15 


41 


23 


Muffins 












I R. 


189 


612 


844 


Butter . 












li oz. 


2 


322 


.... 


Eggs . 












14 oz. 


208 


329 


.... 


Sugar . 












I oz. 




.... 


114 


Coffee . 












I oz. 








To 


tal 




541 


1535 


1963 



For six people : 541 Cal. Protein. 

3498 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Per person : 90 Cal. Protein. 

583 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



TIME FOR PREPARATION 

Cream of wheat — 30 min. 

Muffins — 30 min. 

Omelet — 10 min. 

Coffee — 5 min. 

Breakfast to be served at 7.30. Start breakfast at 7 a.m. 

Cost, $.47. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



^3 



MENU 
DINNER 

Mutton Stew and Dumplings Potatoes 

Onions Carrots Rutabagas in Stew 

Bread Tea 

Caramel Ice Cream Cake 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Proiein 


Cai-ories 

Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Mutton stew . . . 


ih lb. 


483 


1204 




Potato 






, 


ih lb. 


60 


6 


472 


Carrots 










I lb. 


20 


16 


168 


Onions . 










5 oz. 


9 


4 


52 


Rutabagas 










I lb. 


24 


8 


133 


Bread . 










6 oz. 


63 


20 


363 


Butter 












i2 oz. 


2 


321 


.... 


Milk 












I lb. 


60 


162 


91 


Cream 












I lb. 


46 


747 


82 


Eggs 












4 oz. 


59 


94 




Flour 












fib. 


138 


27 


910 


Lard 












I oz. 




252 


.... 


Sugar 












8 oz. 






910 


Cake 












IR. 


86 


286 


808 


Tea 












.... 










Total 






1050 


3147 


3989 



Per person: 175 Cal. Protein; 11 89 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.65. 



84 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 

SUPPER 

Cold Roast Beef Fried Potatoes 

Bread 

Peaches Nut Cake 

Tea 



Food 



Beef . 
Potatoes 
Bread . 
Peaches 
Lard . 
Butter 
Sugar . 
Cake . 
Milk . 



Quantity 



I lb. 
I lb. 

12 OZ. 

I lb. 

1 OZ. 

3 OZ. 

2 OZ. 

8 OZ. 



Calories 
Protein 



293 
40 

125 

13 



42 
30 



545 



Calories 
Fat 



707 

4 

43 

4 

253 

644 

142 
81 



1658 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



328 

725 
197 



228 

404 

46 



1928 



For six people: 545 Cal. Protein; 3586 Fat and Carbohydrate. 
For one person: 91 Cal. Protein; 598 Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.48. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



85 



MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Bananas Cream of Wheat 

Poached Eggs on Toast 

Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


C.\LORI£S 

Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Bananas 


I lb. 


24 


24 


382 


Cream of wheat 






Ub. 


1 10 


36 


684 


Bread .... 






I lb. 


167 


52 


966 


Butter . 












2 oz. 


2 


429 


.... 


Cream . 












80Z. 


23 


374 


41 


Milk . 












4 oz. 


15 


40 


23 


Eggs . 












12 oz. 


178 


282 




Sugar . 












2 oz. 


.... 


.... 


227 


Coffee . 












I oz. 








T 


Ota] 


I 




519 


1237 


2323 



Per person : 87 Cal. Protein ; 593 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.43. 



S6 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 
DINNER 



Fried Chicken Mashed Potatoes 

Jelly Rutabagas Bread 

Banana Salad 

Frozen Pudding Coffee 



Food 



Chicken . 
Rutabagas 
Bread . 
Milk . . 
Eggs (2) . 
Sugar . 
Oranges . 
Cream . 
Potato 
Bananas . 
Salad . 
Walnuts . 
Butter . 
Flour . 
Cream . 
Coffee . 
Jelly . . 

Total 



QuAiSTTITY 



i lb. 
fib. 
5 oz. 
2 oz. 
5 oz. 

oz. 
8 oz. 
8 oz. 
2 lb. 
fib. 

IR. 

1 oz. 
4 oz. 

1 oz. 

2 oz. 
I oz. 
8 oz. 



Calories 
Protein 



650 

44 
52 
45 
74 

7 
23 
80 
18 
36 
18 

4 

13 

6 

10 



1080 



Calories 
Fat 



1242 

15 

16 

121 

117 

4 

373 

8 

18 

232 

160 

858 

3 

93 



3260 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



244 

302 

63 

II37 

105 

41 

656 

286 

72 

18 

85 
10 

702 



3736 



Per person: 180 Cal. Protein; 11 66 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $1.00. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



87 



SUPPER OR LUNCH 

Potato Soup and Croutons 



Food 



Potato . 
Milk . . 
Butter . 
Flour . 
Salt . . 
Bread . 

Total 



Quantity 



1 lb. 

2 lb. 
I oz. 
I oz. 



2 oz. 



Calories 
Protein 



40 
120 

I 

6 

21 



Calories 

Fat 



4 
324 
214 

I 



550 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



328 
182 

43 
121 



664 



^ amount or i pint of potato soup would furnish all nutrition 
needed for a supper or lunch for one person, or 
94 Cal. Protein; 607 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Baked Apples 
Shredded Wheat Biscuit Boiled Eggs 

Toast Cocoa 



Food 



Apples 

Shredded wheat biscuit 
6 Eggs .... 

Bread 

Cream 

Milk 

Butter 

Sugar 

Cocoa 

Total . . 



QtrANTTTY 



2 lb. 

6 oz. 
II oz. 

1 lb. 
lib. 

lilb. 

2 oz. 
i^ oz. 

I oz. 



Calories 
Protein 



14 

72 

164 

167 

II 

75 
2 

25 



530 



Calories 
Fat 



40 

21 

250 

53 
187 
202 
429 

73 



1255 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



472 
519 

966 * 

20 
114 

169 

43 



2303 



Per person : 88 Cal. Protein ; 593 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.40. 



88 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 

DINNER 

Roast Beef Mashed Potatoes 

Canned Peas 

Bananas rolled in Nuts 

Lemon Pie Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Beef 

Potato 

Peas 

Bananas ..... 

Nuts 

Pie filling .... 

Crust 

Bread 

Butter 

Salad dressing 

Milk 

Sugar 


2|lb. 

2 lb. 

I lb. 

lUb. 

4 oz. 

I R. 

IR. 
6 oz. 

3 oz- 

IR. 
8 oz. 
I oz. 


633 
80 

65 
36 

59 
54 
35 
63 
3 
37 
30 


2140 

8 

8 

36 

180 

192 

385 

20 

644 

233 
81 


656 

178 

573 
56 

855 
228 
362 

73 

46 

114 


Total .... 




1095 


3927 


3141 



For six people : 1095 Cal. Protein, 

7068 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

For one person : 183 Cal. Protein. 

1 1 78 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.87i 

Dinner to be served at 12.00. Start preparation at 10.30 a.m. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



89 



MENU 

SUPPER 

Pork Chops Baked Potatoes 

Bread 

Sliced Fruit Sponge Cake 

Tea 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Pork 

Potatoes 

Cake 

Bread 

Butter 

Oranges 

Bananas 

Sugar 


I lb. 

1 lb. 

iR- 

12 OZ. 

2 OZ. 
ilb. 

^Ib. 

2 OZ. 


282 
40 

49 
125 

2 

8 

12 


586 

4 
30 

39 
428 

4 
12 


328 
531 

725 

105 
191 

228 


Total . . . 




536 


1151 


2370 



For six people: 536 Cal. Protein. 

3521 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



For one person 



89I Cal. Protein. 

587 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



90 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Oranges Oatmeal and Cream 

Bacon and Eggs 

Toast Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Cost 


Oranges 


2 lb. 


28 


16 


422 


.12I 


Oatmeal 








6 oz. 


ii6 


III 


451 


.02 


Eggs . 








12 oz. 


179 


282 


.... 


.15 


Toast 










12 oz. 


125 


40 


725 


.05 


Coffee 










.... 


.... 




.... 


.02 


Sugar 










3 oz- 


.... 




342 


.01 


Cream 










4 oz. 


12 


187 


21 


.03! 


Milk 










4 oz. 


15 


41 


23 


.oi| 


Butter 










I oz. 


I 


215 


.... 


.02i 


Bacon 










4 oz. 


42 


628 


.... 


.06 




Tot 


al 




518 


1520 


1984 


$.51 



For six people: 518 Cal. Protein; 3504 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 
For one person : 86 Cal. Protein ; 584 Cal. Fat and carbohydrate. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



91 



MENU 

DINNER 

Chicken Pie Mashed Potatoes 

String Beans Juno Salad 

Custard 



Food 



Chicken 
Potatoes . 
Beans . 
B. P. biscuit 
Flour . 
Butter . . 
Sugar . 
Custard 
Salad . 
Cream . 
Bread . 
Jelly . . 
Coffee . . 

Total 



Quantity 



2ilb. 
2 lb. 

I lb. 
f R. 

1 oz. 

2 OZ. 
2 OZ. 

i^R. 



R. 

OZ. 
OZ. 

lb. 



1 

8 
I 2 OZ. 



Calories 
Protein 



623 
80 
42 
80 

13 

2 

69 

185 

3 

63 

3 



1 163 



Calories 
Fat 



1243 

8 

12 

338 

3 
428 

368 
1072 

47 
22 



3541 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



656 
135 
513 

8S 

228 

1 160 

128 

5 
362 
176 



3562 



For six people : 1163 Cal. Protein; 7103 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

For one person : 194 Cal. Protein ; 1184 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $1.00. 



92 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 



SUPPER 



Deviled Eggs Scalloped Potatoes 

Bread 
Sliced Oranges and Bananas Cake 



Food 



Oranges . 

Bananas . 

Eggs . . . 

Potatoes . 
Butter . 

Milk . . . 
Bread . 

Flour . . . 

Sugar . . . 
Cake . 

Total 



Quantity 



lb. 

lb. 

lb. 

lb. 

oz. 
8 oz. 
6 oz. 
h oz. 

2 OZ. 



I 
1 

I 

2 

2i 



Calories 
Protein 



IS 

6 

238 

60 
3 

30 

63 
6 

78 



50s 



Calories 
Fat 



8 
6 

376 
6 

536 

81 

20 

2 

391 



1426 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



211 
95 

492 

45 

85 
227 

634 



2152 



Per person : 83 Cal. Protein ; 596 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



93 



MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Oranges 

Oatmeal and Cream 

Creamed Dried Beef Popovers 

Toast Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Popovers 


I R. 


152 


176 


502 


White sauce 










I R. 


60 


445 


153 


Oatmeal . 










ilb. 


76 


74 


301 


Bread . 












5 OZ. 


52 


16 


302 


Oranges 












i^lb. 


22 


12 


316 


Butter . 












2 OZ. 


2 


429 


.... 


Cream . 












ilb. 


23 


373 


41 


Sugar . 












2f OZ. 






311 


Beef . 












5 OZ- 


150 


87 


.... 


Coffee . 












I OZ. 








To 


tal 




537 


1612 


1926 



Per person : 89^ Cal. Protein ; 589^ Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.50. 



94 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 
DINNER 

Roast Pork Mashed Potatoes and Gravy 

Creamed Carrots Cabbage Salad 

Apple Pie 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Potatoes 


2 lb. 


8o 


8 


656 


Pork . 












2Ub. 


705 


1465 


.... 


Carrots 












lilb. 


29 


24 


204 


Cabbage 












I lb. 


29 


12 


102 


Apples 












2 lb. 


14 


40 


474 


Milk . 












2 OZ. 


8 


20 


II 


Butter . 












3 OZ- 


3 


645 


.... 


Bread . 












6 OZ. 


63 


20 


455 


Pie crust 












I R. 


69 


770 


362 


White sauce 










I R. 


37 


405 


89 


Salad dressing 








I R. 


73 


465 


145 


Sugar . . . 








6 OZ. 




.... 


682 


Tol 


:al 






mo 


3874 


3230 



For six people: mo Cal. Protein. 

7104 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

For one person: 184 Cal. Protein. 

1 184 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate 

Cost, $.95. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



95 



MENU 
SUPPER 

Cheese Souffle Riced Potato 

Bread 

Canned Peaches Spanish Buns 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Buns 

Potato 

Milk 

Butter 

Cheese 

Canned peaches . 

Bread 

Eggs 

Tea 


fR. 

i^ lb. 

h lb. 

2 OZ. 
lib. 

I lb. 
6 OZ. 
9 OZ. 


91 

49 

30 

2 

118 
13 
63 

134 


424 

6 

81 
428 
340 

4 

20 

211 


992 
400 

45 

II 

197 
3^3 


Total . . . 


500 


1514 


2008 



Per person : 8^ Cal. Protein ; 587 Cal Fat and Carbohydrate. 



96 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 

BREAKFAST 

Stewed Prunes 

Toasted Corn Flakes Hash 

Muffins Coffee 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Prunes . 
Corn flakes 
Cream . 
Sugar . . 
Beef . . 










fib. 

3 oz- 

4 oz. 
if oz. 

i lb. 
lib. 

2 OZ. 

I R. 

4 oz. 


13 
35 
II 

173 
35 

2 

205 

15 


14 
187 

'258* 

4 
429 

375 
41 


444 

263 

20 

198 

287 

989 
23 


Butter . . 
Muffins 
Milk . . 








Total 




489 


1308 


2224 



Per person: 82 Cal. Protein; 589 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

Cost, $.38. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



97 



MENU 
DINNER 

Roast Pork Gravy 

Mashed Potatoes Creamed Carrots 

Bread 

Maple Bavarian Cream 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Pork 

Potatoes 

Carrots 

White sauce .... 

Bread 

Butter 

Bavarian cream . 

Flour 

Milk 

Cream 

Sugar 


2 lb. 
i^ lb. 
i^ lb. 
i^ R. 

h lb. 

3 oz. 
I R. 

1 oz. 

4 oz. 

2 oz. 

I oz. 


564 
80 
29 
56 
84 
3 

119 

13 

15 

6 


I172 

8 

24 

446 

27 

644 

780 

3 
41 
94 


656 
254 
134 
403 

1047 

85 

23 

II 

114 


Total . . . 




969 


3239 


2807 



For six people: 
For one person : 



969 Cal, Protein. 
6046 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

161^ Cal. Protein. 

1008 Cdl. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



CONLEY, N. & D. 7 



98 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



MENU 
SUPPER 

Cold Roast Pork 

Scalloped Potatoes Asparagus Salad 

Bread 

Orange Cake Peach Sauce 



Food 


Quantity 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fax 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 


Pork . . 
Potatoes . ■ 
Bread . 
White sauce 
Butter . . 
Asparagus 
OHve oil . 
Cake . . 
Peaches 
Sugar . . 










i^lb. 
I lb. 

12 OZ. 

1 R. 

2 OZ. 

^Ib. 

2 OZ, 

iR. 

I lb. 

2 OZ. 


423 
40 

125 

37 

2 

17 

43 
13 


879 

4 

40 

297 
429 

4 

757 

143 

4 


328 

725 
89 

30 

404 
197 
228 


Total 






700 


2557 


2001 



For six people : 700 Cal. Protein. 

4558 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 

For one person: 117 Cal. Protein. 

759 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



99 



Foods as Purchased 
Calories per Pound 



Name of Food 



Eggs : 

Eggs, as purchased 
White, egg . 
Yolk, egg . . . 



Milk and its Products 

Milk 

Cream 

American Cheese 
Neufchatel Cheese . 
Butter 



Meat: 

Beef, round 
Beef, rib . 
Beef, loin . 
Lamb, shoulder 
Lamb, leg . 
Mutton, shoulder 
Mutton, loin . 
Mutton, leg . 
Pork, loin, lean 
Pork, loin, fat 
Pork, salt, fat 
Pork, salt, lean 
Sausage 
Ham 
Bacon . 
Dried Beef 
Chicken 

Fish, Fresh : 
Pickerel . 
Salmon . 
Trout . . 



Calories 
Protein 



238 
244 
286 

60 
46 

471 

340 

18 

346 

253 
294 
262 
289 
322 
246 

275 
282 

244 

35 
134 
236 

259 
166 
480 
260 

180 
278 
166 



Calories 
Fat 



376 

8 
1345 

162 

747 
1361 
1 107 
3434 

517 
857 
707 

953 
549 
803 

1 143 

594 

586 

978 

3482 

2407 

1785 

1349 

2513 

279 

497 



360 

206 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrate 



91 

82 

44 

27 



Mineral 
Maiier 

% 



•9 

.6 

I.I 



Cellu- 
lose 



lOO 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



Foods as Purchased — Continued 



Name of Food 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Fat 


Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrates 


Mineral 
Matter 

% 


Cellu- 
lose 


Fish, Salted : 

Codfish, salted . . . 

Fats: 

Lard 

Olive Oil 

Sugars : 

Granulated Sugar . . 
Maple Sirup .... 


462 


12 

4040 
4040 


1820 
,1300 


23-5 





Food as Prepared 
Calories per Recipe 



Name of Food 



Biscuit 

Nut Bread . . . 
Popovers . . . . 
Waffles . . . . 
Muffins . . . . 

Rolls 

Doughnuts 
Cake, plain 
Cake, chocolate . 
Pie Crust . . . . 
Chocolate Pie Filling 
Lemon Pie Filling . 
Beef Loaf . . . . 
Salad Dressing . 
White Sauce . 
Tomato Sauce 
Potato Soup . 



Calories 
Protein 



283 

204 
189 
290 
342 

173 

208 

69 
164 

54 
738 
73 
37 
41 
167 



Calories 
Fat 



454 
430 
176 
402 
612 
345 
427 
572 

1046 
770 
426 
192 

1952 
465 
297 
441 
543 



Calories 
Carbohydrates 



854 

2147 

502 

843 
844 
1809 
2663 
1616 
1692 

455 
682 

855 
60 

145 

89 

186 

543 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



lOI 



Foods as Prepared for Cooking 
Calories per Pound 



Name of Food 



Roots and Tubers 

Potatoes . 
Sweet Potatoes 
Beets . 
Carrots 
Onions . 
Parsnips 
Rutabagas 



Cereals : 



Flour, patent . 

Bread . 

Rice 

Oatmeal 

Cream of Wheat 

Wheat Bk. Food 

Corn Meal 

Shredded Wheat Biscuit 

Corn Flakes, toasted 

Macaroni . 

Com Starch . 



Legumes : 

Lima Beans . 
Navy Beans . 
Peas, green, shelled' 
Peas, canned . 
Beans, string, fresh . 
Beans, string, canned 



Calories 
Protein 



40 

S2> 
29 
20 
29 
29 
24 



207 
167 
146 

304 
220 

185 
167 

193 
184 
244 



329 

410 

127 

66 

42 

20 



Calories 
Fat 



4 

28 

4 
16 
12 
20 



40 

53 

12 

294 

73 

72 

77 
57 
73 
36 



61 

73 
20 

8 
12 

4 



c.'vlories 
Carbo- 
hydrates 



328 
476 

177 
168 

165 

200 

133 



1366 
966 
1438 
1205 
1369 

1349 
1372 
1383 
1405 
1349 
1638 



1 199 

1085 

308 

178 

135 
69 



Mineral 

Matter 

% 



I. 
I.I 
I.I 
I. 

.6 
1.4 
I.I 



•3 
I. 

•4 
1.9 

1-3 
1-5 
I. 
2.1 

•7 
1-3 



Cellu- 
lose 

% 



•4 

1-3 

•9 

I.I 

.8 

2-5 
1.2 



.1 

.2 



1.8 
I.I 

1-7 
.4 



4- 

44 

1.2 

1.2 

1.9 



102 



PLANNING OF MEALS 



Foods as Prepared for Cooking — Continued 



Name of Food 



Green Vegetables 
Asparagus . 
Cauliflower 
Celery . 
Cabbage 
Corn, green 
Corn, canned 
Cucumber 
Lettuce 
Squash 
Spinach 
Tomatoes 
Pickles . 

Fruits : 
Apples . . 
Oranges 
Peaches 
Pineapple . 
Strawberries 
Lemons 
Bananas 
Grapes . 

Dried Fruits : 
Dates . 
Figs . . 
Raisins 
Apricots 
Prunes . 



Chocolate 
Cocoa . 



Calories 
Protein 



Nuts : 
Walnuts 
Peanuts 



33 
33 

20 
29 

S6 
51 
15 

22 
26 

38 
16 

9 

7 

15 
13 

7 

18 
18 
24 
18 

38 

78 

47 
86 

38 

234 
393 

302 

470 



Calories 
Fat 



20 

4 
12 

44 
48 
8 
12 
20 
12 
16 
12 

20 
8 

4 
12 
24 
28 

24 
48 

113 
12 

133 
40 

1967 
1 168 

2561 
1559 



Calories 
Carbo- 
hydrates 



60 

86 

60 

102 

359 

346 

56 

53 
164 

58 
70 

49 

236 
211 
171 
177 

135 
154 
382 
262 

1591 
1350 

1385 
1 138 

1334 

551 
686 

293 
444 



Mineral 

Matter 

% 



1-3 
2.4 

3-4 
2.4 

2-3 

•7 
7.2 

1.4 

2. 



Cellu- 
lose 
% 



1.2 
3.6 

•4 
1.4 
I.I 
I. 



6.2 

2-5 
2,1 



2.6 

2.5 



PART II 

CHAPTER I 
CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS FOR DETAILED STUDY 

Value of Dietary Studies. — The relative importance of 
the different foods used in the country may be estimated 
from crop statistics showing the amount of the various 
foods produced and consumed by the American people. 

A better idea of the importance of the various foods in 
the American diet can be obtained from an analysis of the 
dietary studies conducted by Dr. Langworthy, in charge 
of the nutritive investigations of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 

Over four hundred of these studies were made, showing 
food consumed by normal people, in good health, in the 
average American home, and by people engaged in diversi- 
fied industries. 

These studies are of great value for several reasons. 
They show the habits and customs of people of different 
nationahties, occupations, and conditions ; their peculiar 
tastes, and the prevalence of any class of foods in their 
diet. They furnish valuable data for investigation as to 
the high cost of living, whether it is due to the use of those 
foods where consumption is overtaking production, where 
the cost of production and distribution is necessarily high, 
or whether it is due to the neglect or avoidance of foods 

103 



I04 FOODS FOR DETAILED STUDY 

that are wholesome and nutritious, and can be obtained at 
a low cost. 

The studies show why certain defects or faults of nutri- 
tion can occur in families or in classes of people. An ex- 
ample of this may be seen in the tendency to use foods 
from which much of the mineral matter has been removed 
in milling, as in patent flours, or from which mineral salts 
have been lost by improper cooking. All members of the 
family, or group of families, may suffer from malnutrition, and 
the reason usually given is that the weakness or tendency 
is inherited, and no effort is made to locate the cause. Often 
the weakness is due to a lack of the mineral salts needed 
by the body, and could be remedied by a study of what 
nutritive ingredients are furnished by the different foods. 

The following figures, obtained from the dietary studies 
above referred to, show the relative importance of the 
common foods. 

Wheat furnishes 18.6 per cent of the food consumed in 
the average American home, milk 16.5 per cent, potatoes 
12.5 per cent, corn 8.9 per cent, beef 7.2 per cent, pork 
7.2 per cent, sugar 5.4 per cent, eggs 2.1 per cent, fish 1.8 
per cent, butter 1.6 per cent, rye 1.3 per cent, cheese .3 
per cent. 

After a detailed study of the important foods is made, it 
can be ascertained whether any improvement can be 
made in the diet as regards nutritive value, greater variety, 
and a lessening of cost. The figures show, at any rate, 
that certain foods have not the place in the diet which they 
deserve, as, for example, so wholesome, cheap, and nutri- 
tious a food as cheese furnishes but .3 per cent of the aver- 
age diet, and green vegetables and succulent roots and 
tubers furnish but 6| per cent. 



FOODS FOR DETAILED STUDY 105 

The Object of Food Study is to learn the nutritive value 
of each food to the human body and its place in the diet, 
so that when a food is made part of a meal, it shall serve 
some definite purpose. 

Foods differ widely. They differ in structure, composi- 
tion, appearance, nutritive value, digestibility, cost, and 
in the effect of heat upon them. But many foods are 
similar in structure, composition, and food value, and they 
may be studied in groups. If the typical food of each group 
is studied in detail, the others may be compared and con- 
trasted with it, until the exact place of each food is known. 

For the purpose of detailed study, foods are classified 
as animal foods and vegetable foods, according to the 
sources from which they are derived. Animal foods are 
chiefly protein ; they contain considerable fat and little or 
no carbohydrate. Vegetable foods are chiefly carbohy- 
drate. They contain, with few exceptions, very little fat. 
Some, as the legumes and cereals, contain considerable 
protein. Generally speaking, however, animal foods are 
depended upon to supply protein and fat, and vegetable 
foods to supply carbohydrate, mineral matter, and some- 
times protein. 

Most of the fat supplied in the diet is added to it, not 
in its natural form in the food in which it occurs, but as a 
derived product, as butter, cheese, lard, olive oil. 

From recent dietary studies it has been found that 
animal foods furnish 38.5 per cent of the total food material, 
47.5 per cent of the protein, 88.5 per cent of the fat, 4 per 
cent of the carbohydrate, in the average American diet. 
Vegetable foods furnish 61.5 per cent of the total food ma- 
terial, 52.5 per cent of the protein, 11.5 per cent of the fat, 
96 per cent of the carbohydrate. 



io6 FOODS FOR DETAILED STUDY 

Foods are Classified as — 

A. Animal Foods, — 

1. Meats, which include poultry and game. 

2. Fish, which include shellfish. 

3. Animal Products, which include milk, butter, cheese, 

and eggs. 

B. Vegetable Foods, — 

1. Cereals. 

2. Legumes. 

3. Roots and Tubers. 

4. Green Vegetables. 

5. Fruits. 

Vegetable Foods. — Because vegetable foods furnish the 
larger part of the average diet and because they seem 
simpler to study, they are considered first in the detailed 
study of foods. 

All vegetables have two things in common. They all 
contain valuable mineral salts or acids, and carbohydrate 
in the form of starch, sugar, or cellulose. 

Roots and tubers are pure carbohydrate foods, contain- 
ing little or no available protein. 

Cereals contain protein and carbohydrate in the pro- 
portion of about 1:7. 

Legumes contain protein and carbohydrate in the pro- 
portion of about 1 : 2|. 

Green vegetables are principally valuable for their 
mineral salts and cellulose, fruits for their acids and sugar. 

The rank and importance of the different vegetable foods, 
according to use, may be judged from the following table, 
taken from " Food Customs and Diet in American Homes," 
a government bulletin prepared by Dr. Langworthy. The 



FOODS FOR DETAILED STUDY 



107 



table shows the percentage of total food material furnished 
by the different foods, and the percentage of protein, fat, 
and carbohydrate furnished by each food. 



Food 


Total Food 
Material Used 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbohydrate 


Cereals 

Potatoes .... 
Other vegetables . . 

Fruits 

Legumes .... 
Sugar and molasses . 


Per Cent 
30I 

6 

4i 

5h 


Per Cent 

43 
4 

1 

2 

3i 


Per Cent 

9 

1 
2 

X 

2 
1 
2 
1 
2 


Per Cent 
62 

2 

4 

2 



CHAPTER II 
CEREALS 

The cereals are the most important of all foods because 
they form the chief food of all peoples, the world over, 
and contain the proper nutritive ingredients in the right 
proportion to sustain life. One or more of them can be 
easily raised on nearly every soil. They form the cheap- 
est of all foods, even in localities remote from their place 
of production, and they can be prepared for the table in 
many ways. They are almost the only food that can be 
eaten from day to day without palling the appetite. 

Some idea of their importance can be gained from the 
fact that it is estimated that they furnish 30.6 per cent of 
all food consumed by the American people, 43 per cent or 
nearly one half of all the protein, 9.1 per cent of all fat, 
61.8 per cent of all carbohydrate. 

Wheat, alone, furnishes 18.6 per cent of the total Ameri- 
can food material, corn 8.9 per cent, rye 1.3 per cent, oats 
.5 per cent, rice .3 per cent, buckwheat and barley .1 per 
cent. 

From the above figures it will be seen that wheat and corn 
are the only cereals that form an appreciable part of the 
American diet, and that merit an extensive study. Their 
value and importance are due to the fact that they can be 
manufactured into a great variety of products, as flour, 
meal, breakfast foods, starch, glucose or corn sirup, and 

108 



CEREALS 



109 



thus enter into the composition of many articles of 
food. 

The reason wheat ranks first in importance among all 
foods is because of the character of its protein. The prin- 
cipal protein in wheat, commonly called gluten, which is 
composed of two substances, gliadin and glutenin, gives 
to the wheat flour its peculiar elastic, tenacious property 
which makes it possible to bake it into a light porous 
loaf. The proteins in no other cereal except rye possess 
this property. 

In structure the cereals are similar. They consist of 
three parts, the skin, including the bran coats, the endo- 
sperm or body of the grain, the germ. They vary some- 
what in composition, the greatest variation being in the 
amount of fat, mineral matter, cellulose, and character of 
the protein. 

The following tables show the composition of the various 
cereals as purchased, and their relative richness in each of 
the food principles, though these figures are modified by 
mining processes : — 

Atwater's Table of Composition 



Cereal 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbohydrate 


Cellulose 


Mineral 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Wheat . . 


10.6 


12.2 


1-7 


71-3 


2.4 


1.8 


Corn . . 


10.8 


lO.O 


4-3 


71.7 


1-7 


1.5 


Oats . . 


II.O 


II.8 


5-0 


59-7 


9-5 


3-0 


Rye . . . 


10.5 


12.2 


1-5 


71.8 


2.1 


1.9 


Rice . . . 


12.0 


8.0 


2.0 


76.0 


I.O 


1.0 


Barley . . 


10.9 


II.O 


2.3 


69-5 


3.8 


2-5 


Buckwheat 


12.6 


lO.O 


2.2 


64-5 


8.7 


2.0 



no 



CEREALS 



Table showing Relative Richness of Cereals in the 
Different Ingredients 



Protein 


Fat 


Carbohydrate 


Cellulose 


Mineral 
Matter 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Wheat 


12.2 


Oats 


5.0 


Rice 


76.0 


Oats 


9-.S 


Oats 


3-0 


Rye 


12.2 


Corn 


4-3 


Rye 


71.8 


Buck- 




Barley 


2.5 


Oats 


II. 8 


Barley 


2-3 


Corn 


71.7 


wheat 


8.7 


Buck- 




Barley 


II. O 


Buck- 




Wheat 


71-3 


Barley 


3.8 


wheat 


2.0 


Corn 


lO.O 


wheat 


2.2 


Barley 


69-5 


Wheat 


2.4 


Rye 


1.9 


Buck- 




Rice 


2.0 


Buck- 




Rye 


2.1 


Wheat 


1.8 


wheat 


lO.O 


Wheat 


1-7 


wheat 


64-5 


Corn 


1.7 


Corn 


1-5 


Rice 


8.0 


Rye 


1-5 


Oats 


59.7 


Rice 


I.O 


Rice 


1.0 



Detailed Study of Wheat. — A detailed study will be 
made of the wheat grain, because of its rank in importance 
as a food, and because its structure furnishes an interesting 
study of the processes necessary to prepare a cereal for 
market and consumption. A knowledge of its structure 
also enables us to see what principles of cooking must be 
applied to the cereals, and what changes take place during 
cooking. No better specimen of a vegetable cell can be 
found from which to study the structure, the occurrence 
of the different nutrients, the form of protein needed for 
plant development, and the changes which take place 
during germination. The exhaustive studies which have 
been made of the wheat cell add greatly to our understand- 
ing of the structure of any cell. 

The Structure and Composition. — The wheat grain or 
seed, like all other substances, is made up of innumerable 
cells, alike in structure, but differing widely in composi- 
tion in different parts of the seed. The grain may be 



CEREALS 



III 



said to consist of three parts. At the lower end of the 
seed is found the germ or embryo which contains the hfe 
principle that will develop into a wheat plant. This em- 
bryo is made up of multitudinous cells containing propor- 
tionately more fat, protein, and mineral matter than the 
other parts of the seed. It is 35 per cent protein, 13 per 
cent fat, 35 per cent carbohydrate, and 5I per cent mineral 
matter. When the germ begins to develop, the ferment 

diastase changes the insoluble starch 
to soluble maltose, and the plant 
feeds on the fat, protein, changed 
starch, and mineral matter in the 
embryo and other parts of the seed. 







Diagrammatic Section of 
A Grain of Wheat. 

a, skin and testa; b, membrane; 
c, embryo; d, flour cells; 
e, cereal or aleurone layer; 
/, scutellum. (From Farmers' 
Bulletin, No. 389, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture.) 




Cellular Structure of a Grain of Wheat. 
(After Winton and Moeller.) 

(From Farmers' Bulletin, No. 389, U. S. Depirtraent 
of Agriculture.) 



Surrounding the embryo is a deep network of cells which 
contain more nourishment for the germ. It is called the 
endosperm and makes up 85 per cent of the wheat grain. 
These cells differ from the cells of the embryo in that they 
contain about 10 per cent protein, 75 per cent carbohy- 
drate, less than i per cent each of fat and mineral matter. 



112 



CEREALS 



The outermost layer of cells comprising the endosperm is 
called the cerealin or aleurone layer, and differs from the 
rest of the endosperm in that it is richer in protein and 
mineral matter than the rest. 

The endosperm is surrounded by a tough covering con- 
sisting of five layers of bran coats, which protect the deli- 
cate parts and contain the coloring matter of the wheat. 
It is difficult to separate the aleurone cells from the bran 
coats in milhng, and that is the reason why so much is lost. 
Bran contains about i6 percent protein, 3.5 per cent fat, 
43.5 per cent starch and sugar, 18 per cent cellulose, 6 
per cent mineral matter. 

A Single Cell. — The cells in the wheat grain are held 
together by an intercellular substance, cellulose, which 




Diagram of the Proto- 
plasmic Structure of 
a Flour Cell. 

(From Farmers' Bulletin, No. 
389, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture.) 




Diagram of Starch 
Grains in a Flour 
Cell. 

(From Farmers' Bulletin, 
No. 389, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture.)^ 



varies in thickness in different parts of the seed. The cells 
vary in size, shape, and composition, but all have certain 
structural points in common. A single cell consists of a 
network of protoplasm, or protoplasmic substance, in which 



CEREALS 113 

are embedded starch grains, some fat, and mineral matter. 
Near the center is the cell nucleus, and surrounding the 
whole cell is the cell wall of cellulose. The amount of 
starch, fat, and mineral matter varies in different cells, 
as does the amount and character of the protein. 

The protein in the aleurone layer is called cerealin, that 
in the endosperm is called gluten, and is composed of two 
proteins, ghadin and glutenin. Albumins, globulins, and 
compound proteins are also present in wheat. The com- 
pound proteins contain more phosphorus, iron, and other 
mineral matter than the simple proteins, and they are 
present in greatest quantities in the germ and bran coats. 

The proportion of gliadin to glutenin in the gluten is said to 
determine the bread-making properties of the flour. Gluten 
consists of about two thirds gliadin to one third glutenin. 
Snyder describes gliadin as the material which binds the 
flour particles together to form a dough, giving it tenacity 
and adhesiveness, and the glutenin as the material to which 
the gliadin adheres and which prevents it from becoming 
too sticky and soft. 

Too much gliadin makes a soft and sticky flour, while too 
little causes the flour to lack expansive power. Hard 
wheat contains a lower percentage of gliadin than soft or 
winter wheat. Its gluten is of a stronger and more tena- 
cious character. It will hold greater quantities of water 
than soft wheat, — a very desirable characteristic in bread 
making. 

Milling. — In the process of milhng, or flour making, the 
germ of the wheat is usually removed because the fat in it 
affects the keeping qualities of the flour and darkens it. 
The bran coats are removed because they contain a high 
percentage of cellulose and coloring matter. The cellulose 

CONLEY, N. & D. — 8 



114 



CEREALS 



is said to make the bread less digestible, and people demand 
a white loaf of bread, even if it is not so nutritious as a 
darker loaf. 

The endosperm, including the aleurone cells, is ground 
into flour and produces the various grades of the better 
flour found in the market. Some of the lower grades of 
flour contain the germ, some contain some of the bran; but 
the proteins in them do not make so light and porous a 
loaf of bread as does flour made from the endosperm, which 
contains so much gluten. 

Graham flour is made by grinding the whole of the wheat 
and contains the nutritive ingredients in exactly the same 
proportion as in the wheat grain. Entire wheat flour, or 
whole wheat flour, is usually made by removing the outer 
bran coats and grinding the remainder. 

Variations of Flours. — From the accompanying table 
it will be seen that flour made from the endosperm will 
contain less protein, cellulose, and mineral matter than 
flour made from the whole grain. 



Whole grain 
Endosperm . 
Germ . . . 
Bran . . . 



Protein 


Fat 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


II. O 


1.2 


10.5 


.8 


35-7 


I3-I 


16.4 


3-5 



Carbohydrate 



Per Cent 
69.0 

74.3 
31.2 

43-6 



Cellulose 



Per Cent 
2.6 

•7 

1.8 

18.0 



Mineral 

Matter 



Per Cent 

1-7 

.7 
5.7 
6.0 



The question, as to whether flour made from the endo- 
sperm is as nutritious as flour made from whole grain, has 
probably been as carefully considered and as thoroughly 
investigated as any question of nutritive values of the 
various foods ; but it is a question as to whether mineral 



CEREALS 115 

matter, as found in wheat, and lost in milling, is more val- 
uable to the human body than 10 calories of protein per 
pound, and 80 calories of carbohydrate. 

The value of any food is usually estimated by the 
amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrate which it contains ; 
by the ratio of the proteins to the fats and carbohydrates ; 
and by its digestibility. There are several other factors 
which influence the estimate of the nutritive value of any 
food. Formerly it was held that an ordinary diet would 
supply all the mineral matter needed by the individual. 
At that time, refined flour, refined meals, bread made from 
these products, and sugar did not furnish 32.1 per cent of 
the diet, and not so many experiments had been made 
on animals showing the effect of foods lacking in mineral 
matter on the tissues of the body and on general health. 
There is no question that people who live on foods that are 
lacking in mineral matter suffer from malnutrition and 
that physicians have to try to make up this loss, by pre- 
scribing the elements that are lacking, in an inorganic 
form — a form that the human body cannot so well 
assimilate. 

People engaged in sedentary occupations need cellulose 
and mineral matter to help move the food along the intes- 
tine and expel it from the body. Constipation is a com- 
mon trouble and much medicine is consumed to remedy it. 
In fact, fortunes have been made on patent pills and tablets, 
when the wasted cellulose in foods would keep the slug- 
gish bowel active. The accumulation of waste matter 
in the large intestine leads to putrefactive fermentation, 
and the poisons and gases thus formed are absorbed and 
enter the blood, lowering the vitahty and resistant power 
of the body. An abundance of cellulose would not harm 



ii6 



CEREALS 



the average individual, but would greatly benefit him, by 
aiding' the body to rid itself of waste matter. 

The question remains, what conclusions have been 
reached in regard to the digestibility of patent and whole 
wheat flour ? Whole wheat and Graham flours contain the 
bran and cellulose in such a form as to hasten the food along 
the intestine so rapidly that not all the nutritive ingre- 
dients are absorbed, but some are lost with the indigestible 
waste matter. How much is lost, and will that loss be 
equalized by the gain in mineral matter and the benefits 
derived from a diet containing cellulose ? 

The figures given are all taken from bulletins showing the 
results of Snyder's investigations. 

Composition of Flours 



Kind 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbohydrate 


Mineral 
Matter 


Standard patent .... 

Entire wheat 

Graham 


Per Cent 
11.99 
12.26 
12.65 


Per Cent 
I.61 

2.24 
2.44 


Per Cent 
75-36 

73-58 
74-58 


Per Cent 

-50 
1.02 
1.72 



Snyder's experiments show that the proportion of the 
nutrients digested from different flours were as fol- 
lows : — 

Standard patent flour: protein, 88.6 per cent; carbohy- 
drate, 97.7 per cent. 

Entire wheat flour: protein, 82.0 per cent; carbohydrate, 
93.5 per cent. 

Graham flour: protein, 74.9 per cent; carbohydrate, 
89.2 per cent. 



CEREALS 



117 



Total Calories in Food 


Calories Digested 


Kind 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Carbohydrate 


Calories 
Mineral 
Matter 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories 
Carbohydrate 


Standard patent 
Entire wheat 
Graham .... 


Per Cent 
223 
228 
23s 


Per Cent 
1402 
1368 

1387 


Per Cent 
•50 
1.02 
1.72 


Per Cent 
197 
187 
176 


Per Cent 
1369 
1289 
1237 



By using the percentage composition, and finding the 
number of calories of energy in each flour, and then figur- 
ing the amount actually digested, it is found that there is 
available to the body but 10 calories less protein in the 
entire flour than in the patent flour, and over twice as much 
mineral matter. Five tablespoons of milk added to one 
pound of entire wheat flour, in breadmaking, would make 
the amount of protein equal to the amount in bread made 
from patent flour, and, in addition, there would remain the 
valuable mineral matter and the much needed cellulose. 
Skim milk could be used in place of the whole milk, for it 
furnishes the same amount of protein. 

Figures showing the comparative amounts of iron, cal- 
cium, and phosphorus in different flours, grains, and bread. 



Kind 


Calcium 


Phosphorus 


Iron 






Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Patent flour .... 


.025 


.20 


.0015 


Entire wheat 










.061 


.902 


•0053 


Bread, white 










•03 


.20 


.0009 


Bread, entire 










.C4 


•4 


.0015 


Rye . . . 










.07 


.81 


.004 


Rye flour 










.018 


.80 




Corn meal . 










.015 


•3 


.0011 


Oatmeal 










•13 


.872 


.0036 


Rice . . . 










.12 


.203 


.0009 



ii8 



CEREALS 



It may seem that undue emphasis is laid on the importance 
of mineral matter in the diet, especially in connection with 
this subject; but because cereals furnish 30.6 per cent of 
the total food material, and even a higher percentage among 
the poorer classes where the meal consists mostly of bread ; 
because this book is written for girls and women who need 
to know the demands of a growing and maturing body; 
because girls and women are inclined to favor foods lack- 
ing in mineral salts, — the need for foods as nature provided 
them is presented. There is no question that the average 
girl of to-day would be greatly benefited by a diet rich in 

iron, calcium, and phosphorus, and 
other mineral substances. 

Corn. — From the standpoint of the 
agriculturist, no other vegetable crop 
has been so carefully studied as corn, 
for no other crop ranks with it in 
importance. This is not because of 
its importance as a human food, but 
because it is the chief food of farm 
animals; and any improvement in 
methods of raising it so as to im- 
prove the variety, or increase the 
yield per acre, means greater returns 
c, embryo; d, endosperm; to the practical farmer, and merits 

/, scutellum. (From Farmers' 

Bulletin, No. 389, U. S. Depart- COUSidcration. 

ment of Agriculture.) /^ • i • ^ 

Corn IS used more extensively as 
a food in the southern states than in the northern, but 
dietary studies show that it occupies an important place 
in all diets, furnishing 8.7 per cent of the total food 
material consumed. 

Corn is similar in structure and composition to wheat, but 




Diagrammatic Section of 
A Grain of Corn. 

a, skin and testa; b, membrane; 



CEREALS 119 

it differs in the character of its protein. The principal pro- 
tein in corn, called zein, has not the tenacious, elastic proper- 
ties that gluten has, and it cannot be baked into a light and 
porous loaf. Corn contains less protein, mineral matter, 
and cellulose than wheat, but more fat and carbohydrates. 

Like the wheat kernel, corn consists of three parts, the 
skin, endosperm, and germ. The skin, which is chiefly 
cellulose and starch, with some mineral matter, contains 
the coloring matter of the corn. The outer covering may 
be red, yellow, white, or blue, but the body of the kernel is 
either white or yellow. The endosperm of corn, which makes 
up 84 per cent of the grain, contains proportionally less 
protein, fat, mineral matter, and cellulose than the whole 
kernel. As corn contains but a small quantity of cellulose, 
compared to other grains (1.7 per cent), it is not necessary 
to remove any part of it except the skin or outer covering, 
and products made from the whole grain supply the food 
requirements of the body much better than products 
made from endosperm, such as fine meal, flour, and 
corn starch. 

Corn Products. — Corn is manufactured into a great variety 
of products and served in many ways. Green corn, or corn 
on the cob, is a universal favorite as a late summer vege- 
table, and is also canned for winter use. Pop corn, so called 
because it bursts with a popping sound through the tough 
skin which incloses it, and comes out white and crisp, is 
sold extensively all over the country. It is said that the 
great expansion of endosperm in pop corn is due to the fact 
that the skin of pop corn is much tougher than other 
varieties, and that it does not burst until the pressure due 
to the expansion of the starch and water turned to steam 
is great enough to force it open. 



I20 CEREALS 

Hominy was formerly the whole grain of the corn, and 
the skin was removed by soaking the kernel in lye. Hom- 
iny as now sold is freed from skin and germ and some- 
times crushed into small pieces or flakes. 

Several varieties of corn meal are prepared. Unbolted 
meal from the whole grain has the same composition as the 
whole kernel. The fine meal and corn flour are made from 
the endosperm after the skin and germ are removed, and 
are finely ground. Corn starch is refined so that it con- 
tains nothing but starch. The breakfast foods prepared 
from corn wifl be referred to later. Liquid glucose or corn 
sirup is becoming more familiar to us since the United 
States Food Laws compel manufacturers to retail it under 
its right name and to sell it uncolored. It is prepared 
by hydrolyzing corn starch by boihng it with a dilute 
acid, and as prepared is a wholesome product and is 
coming into use more extensively. It was formerly 
added to maple and cane sirup as an adulterant and 
colored with caramel. It is about three fifths as sweet 
as cane sugar. Cereal coffee and many hquors are also 
made from corn. 

Corn prepared as corn meal and flour should be used 
extensively in the diet to furnish variety. It bakes into a 
granular cake and can be added to hot cakes and warm 
breads, where it changes the sticky or pasty character of the 
loaf and makes it more digestible when it is to be eaten 
hot. It is more easily masticated than wheat breads and 
can be prepared for the table in a short time. There is 
no possibility that it would ever supplant wheat as a bread- 
stuff, nor would that be desirable, because wheat is better 
food; but since the diet should have some variety, corn 
well serves this purpose. 



CEREALS 121 

Other Cereals. — Rye and buckwheat are used prin- 
cipally as flour. Barley is used for malt and pearled bar- 
ley. Oats are prepared as breakfast food or for porridge, 
and are more widely used as such than any of the other 
cereals. Rice is used as a breakfast food, a vegetable in 
place of potatoes to furnish the carbohydrate part of a 
meal, and for making desserts and puddings. 

Macaroni. — Macaroni, spaghetti, and vermiceUi are 
prepared from a wheat called macaroni wheat, which has 
a high gluten content. The gluten must be elastic, tena- 
cious, and able to absorb and hold about 30 per cent of 
water. The best macaroni wheat is raised in Italy and 
Russia, though some of our western states are producing a 
high grade of macaroni wheat. 

In the preparation of macaroni, the wheat is freed from 
the bran, and some of the starch is removed during the 
mining, leaving a high percentage of gluten. The part of 
the grain used in the manufacture of macaroni, called 
semoHna, is mixed with water and kneaded to a stiff dough. 
It is then put into hollow cyhndrical presses and forced 
out in tubes of various sizes. They are dried in the open 
air or in drying rooms. The largest are called macaroni, 
the next spaghetti, and the smallest vermicelli. 

A poor grade of macaroni is made from bread flour. It 
contains too much starch, has not the right kind of gluten, 
and is sticky or pasty. Good macaroni is yellowish in 
color, breaks with a smooth fracture without splitting, and 
retains its shape when cooked in water. When macaroni is 
prepared with grated cheese and white sauce, as in baked 
macaroni, it contains so much protein that it may be used 
as the protein food for the meal and serve as a substitute 
for meat. 



122 CEREALS 

CEREALS ARE MANUFACTURED INTO THE FOLLOWING 

PRODUCTS 

1. Breakfast foods, — oatmeal, rolled oats, cream of wheat, 
hominy, etc. 

2. Starch — corn, rice, wheat. 



Macaroni, vermicelli, spaghetti. 

Glucose — sirup. 

Cereal coffee. 

Flour — wheat, rye, corn, buckwheat, rice. 

Liquors — malted drinks, beer, whisky. 

Alcohol. 

Feed for animals. 

Cereal Breakfast Foods. — A few years ago the market 
was flooded with dozens of varieties of breakfast foods 
that claimed all possible and impossible virtues as foods. 
The work done by the experiment stations over the coun- 
try in making exhaustive studies of breakfast foods led to 
the withdrawal of many of the fraudulent claims, and the 
craze for the prepared breakfast foods seems to have spent 
its force. Where once a merchant was obliged to carry all 
varieties, he finds now that the demand has changed so 
that a half-dozen well-known foods are all that are called 
for. 

This does not mean that breakfast foods have lost favor, 
but that people are using the oatmeal, corn meal, cracked 
or flaked wheat, and hominy, and preparations that have 
to be cooked at home, instead of the prepared forms. The 
plain cereals are more economical than the prepared foods, 
and a serving furnishes considerably more nutrition than 
the dry, cooked, flaky kinds. They can be eaten day after 
day without losing savor. They merit an extensive use 
because they are prepared from the whole grains without 



CEREALS 



123 



much loss of nutrients, and contain nearly all the protein 
and mineral matter found in the whole grain. 

Classes of Breakfast Foods. — Breakfast . foods are 
grouped into three classes. The first class includes those 
prepared by grinding the grain. In some cases the outer 
bran coat is removed ; in others nothing is removed. With 
the use of the iireless cooker this is the best form to pur- 
chase them, because they are cheaper and can be cooked 
the night before they are to be used, and kept warm until 
ready to serve. 

The second class includes those that have been steam- 
cooked, and then rolled or shredded or ground so that so 
much time is not necessary for their cooking. This form 
is best when it is not a question of economy, time, or fuel 
saved in preparation, because the foods are more attractive 
in appearance and take less thought for preparation. 

The third class includes those that are sold ready to eat. 
Some are malted ; some thoroughly cooked and shredded ; 
some cooked in water, then dried and rolled; some have 
sugar, molasses, or caramel added; some are toasted or 
popped. 

The malted foods are said to possess special virtue be- 
cause they have undergone one step in digestion. This 
may or may not be desirable, for the normal individual can 
digest what starchy food he takes. It may be said, 
however, that all breakfast foods are good and merit an 
extensive use, because even the higher-priced ones are 
cheap when compared with other foods. They contain 
the mineral matter that flour does not contain, — phos- 
phorus, calcium, and iron; and they contain a valuable 
amount of cellulose needed to stimulate peristaltic action, 
and aid in the ehmination of waste. Mineral matter 



124 CEREALS 

and cellulose together do this better than cellulose can do 
it alone. 

Cooking of Cereals. — The amount of cooking which the 
cereals need depends on the size of the particles into which 
they are broken and the amount of cellulose which they 
contain. This varies greatly in the different cereals, rang- 
ing from 9.5 per cent in oats to i per cent in rice. 

By referring to the section of a grain of wheat (p. iii), it 
will be seen that the protein and starch are inclosed in walls 
of cellulose, and that the grain must be cooked long enough 
to soften the cellulose and gelatinize the starch, and free it 
and the protein from the indigestible covering. Heat and 
moisture soften the wall, and cause the starch to swell and 
burst it. Long, slow cooking accomplishes this best. Be- 
cause it saves fuel, and needs no watching to prevent burn- 
ing, the fireless cooker is the best medium for cooking 
cereals. When cereals are cooked in water, much of the 
starch, mineral matter, and some protein are dissolved out 
and lost in the water. To prevent this loss it is best to 
cook cereals in a small quantity of water that will be ab- 
sorbed, to steam-cook them ; or to use much water and to 
use the water strained off for cream soup or other purposes. 

Place of Cereals in the Diet. — Cereals contain the proper 
nutritive ingredients to supply the demands of the body 
for energy and tissue building. The nutritive ratio of 
wheat is 1:6, oats 1:7, corn i : 8, the ratio in every case 
being higher than that accepted by Chittenden, and the 
average would be that accepted by other authorities. The 
whole grains contain all the mineral matter needed by the 
body, in an available form. 

They are used so extensively and universally that they 
form the chief food the world over. Rice is used in the 



CEREALS 



125 



Orient, rye in northern Europe, buckwheat in Russia, corn 
in Africa and in our southern states, and wheat every- 
where. Among the poorer classes in all countries they form 
almost the sole food. When the cereals are prepared for 
sale, some protein and two thirds of the mineral matter are 
usually removed, so people who depend on the cereals to 
supply over one half of their food material do not get the 
right amount of mineral matter. It has become the cus- 
tom to say that the necessary amount of mineral matter 
will be supphed in a diet rich in green vegetables and fruits, 
and for that reason the loss in patent flour and fine meals 
is not important. City famihes who have to live on less 
than $1000 a year cannot purchase an abundance of green 
vegetables and fruits, because they are expensive, and so the 
loss is never made up. It would seem best to advocate the 
use of the breakfast foods prepared from the whole grain, 
and the use of unbolted meals, and whole wheat or Graham 
flour. When we consider how many people use nothing 
but bread, meat, potatoes, sugar, and some form of fat, 
we can see the need of foods prepared from the whole of 
the grain, to supply all the elements needed by the body, 
in the right proportion, at a low cost, and in a form so 
appetizing that no great effort is needed to persuade children 
to partake of the foods so prepared. 

Nutritive Value of Oatmeal and Cream for Child of 5 



Food 


Quantity 


Cal. 
Protein 


Cal. Fat 


Cal. 
Carbohydrate 


Oatmeal 

Cream 

Sugar 


2 OZ. 
2 OZ. 
i OZ. 


38 

6 


37 
93 


150 
10 

57 


Total . . . 




44 


130 


217 



126 



CEREALS 



Composition of Cereals and Cereal Products 





Kind 


Water 


Pro- 
tein 


Fat 


Carbohy- 
drate 


Cellulose 


Miner \L 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per 
Cent 


Per 

Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


• 
Per Cent 


Oat Prepara- 














tions : 














Oats, whole 














grain . , . 


II. O 


II.8 


5-0 


59-7 


9-5 


3.0 


Raw oatmeal . 


7-3 


16.I 


7.2 


66.6 


•9 


1.9 


Steam-cooked, 














rolled oats . 


8.2 


16.I 


7-4 


65.2 


1-3 


1.8 


Flaked and 














malted oats . 


7-9 


16.2 


5-2 


66.7 


1.6 


2.4 


Wheat: 














Whole grain 


I0.5 


II.9 


2.1 


71.9 


1.8 


1.8 


Cracked wheat 


lO.I 


II. I 


1-7 


73-8 


1-7 


1.6 


Steam-cooked, 














rolled wheat 


I0.6 


10.2 


1.8 


74.1 


1.8 


1-5 


Ready to eat, 














flaked and 














crisp . . . 


9-4 


12.2 


1.4 


72.7 


1.9 


2.4 


Shredded wheat 


8.1 


10.6 


1.4 


76.0 


2.1 


1.8 


Farina . . . 


10.9 


II.O 


1.4 


75-9 


.4 


.4 


Patent roller 














process flour 


12.0 


II.4 


I.O 


74.8 


•3 


•5 


Entire wheat 














flour . . . 


11.4 


13-8 


1.9 


71.0 


•9 


1.0 


Graham flour . 


II-3 


13-3 


2.2 


69-5 


1.9 


1.8 


Barley : 














Whole grain 


10.9 


12.4 


1.8 


69.8 


2.7 


2.4 


Pearled barley . 


II-5 


8-5 


I.I 


77-5 


•3 


I.I 


Steam-cooked, 














flaked . . . 


8.8 


10,6 


.8 


77-7 


1.2 


•9 


Buckwheat : 
Flour . . . 


13-6 


6.4 


1.2 


77-S 


.4 


•9 


Farina . . 


II-3 


3-3 


.3 


84.6 


.1 


•4 


Groats . . . 


10.6 


4.8 


.6 


83.1 


•3 


.6 



CEREALS 127 

Composition of Cereals and Cereal Products — Continued 



Kind 


Water 


Pro- 
tein 


Fat 


Carbohy- 
drate 


Cellulose 


MnSTERAL 

Matter 




Per Cent 


Per 
Cent 


Per 

Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Corn: 














Whole grain 


10.9 


10.5 


5-4 


69.6 


2.1 


1-5 


Unbolted corn 














meal . . . 


II.6 


8.4 


4-7 


74.0 


. . 


1.3 


Bolted corn 














meal . . . 


12.5 


9.2 


1.9 


74.4 


I.O 


1.0 


Hominy . . 


10.9 


8.6 


.6 


79.2 


.4 


•3 


Parched, flaked 


7-3 


10. 1 


1.8 


77.2 


1,2 


2.4 


Popped pop 














corn . . . 


4-3 


10.7 


5-0 


77-3 


1.4 


1.3 


Rice: 














Polished whole 














rice , . . 


12.3 


6.9 


•3 


80.0 


. . 


•5 


Steam-cooked, 














flaked . . 


10.2 


8.3 


•3 


79.7 


1.2 


•3 


Puffed rice . . 


7-1 


6.2 


.6 


85.7 


. . 


.4 


Popped rice 


•7 


8.6 


.2 


90.0 




•5 



CHAPTER III 
LEGUMES 

Legumes are a class of plants that have the power to 
take nitrogen from the air and put it into a form that is 
available as food for man and the lower animals. They 
include beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, clover, and alfalfa, 
and differ from other plants in that they have little nodules 
at their roots, containing bacteria that have the power to 
take nitrogen from the air. The plant uses this nitrogen in 
building proteins. The percentage of protein in the leg- 
umes is so high that they are classed with meat and 
cheese as tissue-building foods. 

Like the cereals, legumes are used the world over for food, 
probably more extensively in other countries than in Amer- 
ica, because in other countries they take the place of meat, 
and the people understand better how to cook them so 
that they can be easily digested. In the use of legumes 
and cheese European countries have surpassed America, 
and the reason, doubtless, is because the poorer classes 
have not been able to purchase meat and so have found sub- 
stitutes and better ways of preparing them. Foreigners 
can teach us many things about cooking legumes and 
cheese. Americans do not know much about economics 
in food. They have spent their talents in preparing high- 
priced, appetizing foods for the well-to-do, and the poorer 
classes have lived on baker's bread and tea. The soup 

128 



LEGUMES 



129 



kitchens have a mission other than supplying food to school 
children. They could teach the uses of the legumes, and 
their preparation in the fireless cooker. Legumes furnish 
1.6 per cent of the total food consumed in the American 
diet, 3.3 per cent of the protein, .2 per cent of the fat, 2 
per cent of the carbohydrate. 

Composition. — Legumes should be classed in two dis- 
tinct classes because the fresh and dried forms differ so 
widely in nutritive value and use. 

Composition of Legumes 



Materials 


Water 


Pro- 
tein 


Fat 


Carbohy- 
drate 


Cellulose 


Mineral 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per 

Cent 


Per 
Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Fresh Legumes: 














String beans 


89.2 


2.3 


•3 


7-4 


1.9 


.8 


Shelled kidney 














beans . . . 


58.9 


9.4 


.6 


29.1 


1.7 


2.0 


Shelled lima 














beans . . . 


68.5 


7-1 


•7 


22.0 


1-7 


1-7 


Shelled peas 


74.6 


7.0 


•5 


16.9 


1-7 


I.O 


Dried Legumes: 














Lima beans 


10.4 


18.1 


1-5 


65-9 


? 


4.1 


Navy beans 


12.6 


22.5 


1.8 


59-6 


4.4 


3-5 


Lentils . . . 


8.4 


257 


I.O 


59-2 


? 


5.7 


Dried peas . . 


9-5 


24.6 


I.O 


62.0 


4-5 


2.9 


Peanuts . . . 


9.2 


25.8 


38.6 


24.4 


2.5 


2.0 



String beans compare with other green vegetables in 
nutritive value ; shelled beans and peas with the roots and 
tubers, although they contain considerably more protein ; 
and the dried legumes with cheese, nuts, and chocolate, all 
considered concentrated foods. 

The nutritive ratio of the dried legumes is i : 2 J, which 

CONLEY, N. & D. 9 



130 



LEGUMES 



shows that they belong with the tissue-building foods. 
They contain from 18 to 25 per cent protein, mostly in the 
form of legumin, — a globuHn. With the exception of pea- 
nuts they contain scarcely any fat ; all except peanuts con- 
tain from 59 to 66 per cent carbohydrate in the form of 
starch and cellulose, the cellulose content reaching as 
high as 4.5 per cent in dried peas. 

They contain mineral matter in the form of lime, potas- 
sium, and sulphur compounds, although they contain the 
other elements also. Lentils contain a high percentage 
of iron, and not so much sulphur as the other legumes, and 
for that reason they are more easily digested. It is to be 
regretted that they are not used more extensively in this 
country, although they are used to some extent among our 
foreign population. 

From their composition, it would seem that the dried 
legumes could be used largely and profitably as substitutes 
for meat, and that if fat in some form is added they would 
serve as a balanced food. They contain more protein than 
meat, fish, eggs, milk, and as much as cheese. They con- 
tain enough carbohydrate, so that if fat is added, as in cook- 
ing beans with pork, the nutritive ratio can be adjusted 
to any standard. They contain cellulose for bulk and 
sufficient mineral matter to supply all the needs of the 
body. 

But neither composition alone, nor composition and low 
cost, can make a perfect and satisfactory food. The third 
factor, digestibility, is even more important, because the 
old saying, ^' It is not what we eat, but what we digest, that 
nourishes the body," applies to this class of foods more 
directly than to any other class, with the possible exception 
of nuts. 



LEGUMES 131 

Structure. — Dried peas, beans, and lentils are so similar 
in composition that a study may be made of any one of them, 
which will serve for all. Beans have been taken as the 
type because they are used more widely in the dried form, 
in this country, than either of the others. In the fresh 
form peas are the greater favorite. 

Dried navy beans contain 22.5 per cent protein, 1.8 per 
cent fat, 59.6 per cent carbohydrate, 4.4 per cent cellulose, 
and 3.5 per cent mineral matter. The carbohydrate and 
protein are stored in cells, the walls of which are cellulose, 
of considerable thickness, for the cellulose makes up 4.4 
per cent of the seed. This means that they are so sur- 
rounded with cellulose that it will take long, slow cooking to 
soften the walls and free the starch and protein^ and allow the 
water to reach them. This is hard to accomplish, because, 
ordinarily, beans are cooked whole, and the heat and mois- 
ture must penetrate the whole mass. They are served 
whole, and it has been found that a varying percentage of 
the starch and protein not only escapes digestion, but also 
escapes cooking. To repeat, the starch and protein are so 
intermixed with the cellulose that in the whole seed much 
escapes cooking and digestion; and because of the delay in 
digestion, fermentation frequently sets in and causes the dis- 
tress that people are subject to who find that beans do not 
* agree with them. If the beans are ground into meal, or finely 
divided, they will cook more thoroughly, and will be digested 
more readily, without causing digestive disturbances. 

Digestibility. — The coefficients of digestibility for pro- 
teins and fats are not nearly so high in vegetable foods as 
in animal foods. They are not so high for carbohydrate, but 
the difference is not so marked. Several reasons are given 
for the losses in digestion, among them the following : 



132 



LEGUMES 



The protein and fat in meat and fish are more like the 
human body in composition and so are more readily assim- 
ilated ; the proteins in meat are more pleasing to the taste 
and call out more digestive juices, or rather, call out a 
greater quantity of the digestive juices; the protein, 
starch, and cellulose are so intermixed that cooking does 
not release them, and they escape digestion. The last 
reason is, undoubtedly, the greatest factor. The following 
table, taken from Farmer's Bulletin No. 142, gives the figures 
showing coefficients of digestibility for different foods : — 



Kind 


Protein 
Digestibility 


Fat 
Digestibility 


Carbohydrate 
Digestibility 


Meat and fish . 
Effffs .... 






Per Cent 

97 
97 
97 
85 
78 
S3 
85 


Per Cent 
95 
95 
95 
90 
90 
90 
90 


Per Cent 
98 
98 
98 
98 

97 
95 
95 


Dairy products 
Cereals .... 
Legumes . . 
Vegetables . . 
Fruits . . . 







Legumes have a lower coefficient of digestibility for pro- 
tein than the other vegetable foods, and it is probably due 
to the structure of the cell, — tough walls of cellulose con- 
taining starch and protein in close combination. 

Legumes are not digested to any great extent in the 
stomach, and they remain there longer than most foods. 
This is doubtless the reason why they are considered in- 
digestible. The digestion in the intestine is fairly complete, 
except for the protein; but with the sulphur present and the 
large amount of starch and cellulose, if digestion is delayed, 
fermentation sets in and gases are formed which cause the 
discomfort occasioned by an overindulgence in baked beans. 



LEGUMES 



133 



If the skin is removed from the dried legumes, and they 
are ground into meal or flour, very little escapes digestion. 
If they are thoroughly soaked first, and then cooked for a 
long time at a moderate temperature so as not to make the 
protein harder to digest, and if eaten in moderate quantities, 
they are a nutritious, wholesome, and cheap food, and should 
be substituted occasionally for meat in the diet. The fresh 
legumes are universal favorites as green vegetable foods. 

Peanuts, while usually considered nuts, are the seeds 
of a leguminous plant and when raw taste much like beans. 
They have not been considered a food, but merely a relish 
or addition to the diet, much as candy is considered, 
although they have high nutritive value. Several prep- 
arations are now marketed with a view to using them as a 
food ; the commonest is peanut butter, much used for 

sandwiches. 

Lunch or Supper for Four People 

Man at sedentary occupation, woman at moderately active work, 
boy 13-14 years, girl 15-16 years. 

Lentil Soup. Nutritive Value in Calories 



Food 


Quantity 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbohydrate 


Lentils . . . 
Flour . . . 
Butter . . . 
Soda crackers 


Ub. 

1 OZ. 

2 OZ. 
12 OZ. 


234 
12 

4 

133 


20 
2 

430 
276 


539 
86 

998 


Total . . 




383 


728 


1623 



Cost $.17. 

For 4 people: 383 Cal. Protein, 2351 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 
Per person : 96 Cal. Protein, 588 Cal. Fat and Carbohydrate. 
One fourth of daily ration. 
Supplies also iron, lime, and potash, and other mineral salts. 



CHAPTER IV 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 



CLASSIFICATION OF ROOTS AND TUBERS 



A. Starchy Roots and Tubers. 




Potato. 


Tapioca. 


Sweet potato. 


Sago. 


Yam. 


Arrowroot. 


B. Succulent Roots and Tubers. 




Onions. 


Kohlrabi. 


Beets. 


Celeriac. 


Carrots. 


Salisfy. 


Rutabagas. 


Parsnips. 


White turnips. 


Radishes, etc 



Composition of Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes 



Food 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbohydrate 


Cellulose 


Mineral 
Matter 


Potato . . 
Sweet potato 


Per Cent 

78.3 
69. 


Per Cent 
2.2 
1.8 


Per Cent 
.1 
0.7 


Per Cent 
18.0 
26.1 


Per Cent 
•4 
1-3 


Per Cent 
I.O 
I.I 



Vegetable Foods — Roots and Tubers and Bulbs. — 

Roots, tubers, and bulbs are either the roots, or the thick- 
ened stems of vegetables, in which starch or sugar is stored 
for the nourishment of the young plant when it shall need 



134 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 135 

it. They contain 70-90 per cent water; 8-26 per cent 
carbohydrates, in the form of starch, sugar, pectin, and 
cellulose ; i per cent mineral salts ; less than 2 per cent 
protein ; and only a trace of fat. As purchased, they con- 
tain about 20 per cent refuse. From the above it will be 
seen that their food value depends on the carbohydrates 
and mineral salts. 

They are easily raised, can be stored for winter use, are 
cheap, and furnish great variety to the diet because they 
can be served in many forms. They furnish about 16 per 
cent of the average American diet. Potatoes alone furnish 
12 per cent. 

Roots and tubers should be studied in two general classes 
because of the variance in the amount of carbohydrates, 
in the amount of water, and in the rank and importance 
in the diet. 

1. Starchy roots and tubers, which include potatoes, 
sweet potatoes, and yams, contain 18-26 per cent carbohy- 
drates, mainly in the form of starch, and 68-78 per cent 
water. In this class are also included those tropical starchy 
foods prepared from roots and stems, such as tapioca, arrow- 
root, and sago. In the dry state they contain about 83 per 
cent starch in a form very easily digested; but when cooked, 
they have about the same food value as the potato, having 
absorbed at least eight times their weight of water. 

2. Succulent roots and tubers, the commonest of which 
are beets, carrots, onions, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, 
salsify, celeriac, radishes, kohlrabi, and garlic, contain 7-12 
per cent carbohydrates, and 83-90 per cent water. The 
flavor and odor of these foods are due to the presence of 
volatile oils which may be retained or dissipated by proper 
cooking. 



136 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 




Typical Starchy Food — Potato 

Structure and Composition. — The potato is a thickened 
underground stem or tuber in which nourishment is stored 
for the young plant. This stored nourishment is princi- 
pally insoluble starch, and when in this form is of great 
value as a human food. As the plant sprouts, a ferment 
in the potato changes part of the starch to soluble glucose 

for circulating 
nourishment, and 
unfits the potato 
for food. 

The potato con- 
sists of a network 
of cells held to- 
gether by a frame- 
work of cellulose 
and surrounded by 
a brown corky skin 
which serves to re- 
tain the nourish- 
ment. The walls 
of the cells are also 
of crude fiber or cellulose, but so fine are the fibers that 
cellulose makes up but .4 per cent of the potato. Because 
of the low cellulose content, potatoes cook more quickly 
than some of the more woody roots and tubers. The cells, 
which become less dense near the center of the potato, con- 
tain water, starch, and a small amount of protein and 
mineral matter, and an inappreciable amount of fat. 

Potatoes contain 78.3 per cent water ; 18.4 per cent car- 
bohydrate, of which about 16 per cent is starch (2 per cent 



Transverse and Longi- 
tudinal Sections of 
THE Potato. 

A, skin; B, cortical layer; 

C, outer medullary layer; 

D, inner medullary area. 
(From Farmers' Bulletin, 
No. 389, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture.) 




ROOTS AND TUBERS 137 

dextrin, sugar, and pectose) and .4 per cent cellulose ; 
2.2 per cent nitrogenous matter, of which about 1.3 per cent 
is protein, and the remainder extractives, as, asparagin 
and amido acids; i per cent mineral matter, mostly potash 
salts and phosphoric acid compounds. The mineral salts 
greatly increase the food value of potatoes, because of their 
use in digestion and in aiding to preserve the alkalinity of 
the blood. 

The nutritive ratio of the potato is above i : 14, which 
shows that it must be eaten with a protein food to serve 
the needs of the body. It contains about 22 per cent nu- 
trients, and one pound has a fuel value of 375 calories. One 
medium-sized potato weighs one half pound. From this 
it will be seen that it must be eaten with a more concen- 
trated food to supply the proper amount of fuel needed. 

Selection. — Potatoes are distinguished as mealy, sogg}^, 
and waxy. The mealy potato cooks into a light, flaky 
mass which readily falls apart, and it is said this quality 
is produced by the even and abundant distribution 
of starch throughout the tuber. If, however, the water is 
more abundant in the center of the potato, it settles there 
and produces a soggy potato. By improper cooking, — 
allowing the steam to condense into water in the potato, — 
any potato will become soggy. Some potatoes contain 
more protein than others. This is especially so in young, 
new potatoes. During the cooking of these potatoes the 
protein is coagulated and forms a framework which holds 
the starch in place and produces a waxy, rather than a 
mealy, potato. 

It would seem that the best method of selecting potatoes 
IS, either to know the variety, though they differ with 
soil and season, or to cook some for experiment before pur- 



138 ROOTS AND TUBERS 

chasing a winter supply. Nearly all people desire a dry, 
mealy potato, and, as has been said, this may depend on two 
factors — starch content and distribution, and proper 
cooking. 

It is best to select a medium-sized potato with a smooth 
skin, as there is less refuse. The flesh of a small potato is 
apt to be firmer than that of a large one and it cooks more 
evenly. 

The characteristic potato flavor is due to the presence of 
a trace of a poisonous alkaloid, solanin, which volatilizes 
during cooking. Potatoes which have turned green be- 
cause they have grown near the surface of the ground, old 
potatoes which have sprouted, and unripe potatoes con- 
tain considerable solanin and are apt to lead to digestive 
disturbances. For these reasons potatoes should be se- 
lected that are matured, have uniform color, and are free 
from blemishes. 

Storage. — As the potato contains the germ of life and 
the nourishment for its development, it is simply waiting 
until conditions are favorable to sprout. Ferments present 
change the starch to soluble sugar and also break down the 
sugar. Water is lost by evaporation; the potato loses its 
texture and flavor, and develops a sweetish taste. To 
prevent as far as possible these changes, potatoes should 
be stored in dry, dark, well-ventilated rooms, and kept at 
a temperature just above freezing, between 33 and 45° F., 
because the ferments detrimental to potatoes are not active 
at so low a temperature. 

Products. — Potatoes form 40 per cent of the total vege- 
table crop of the United States, and while most of them are 
consumed as an article of diet in their natural state, they 
also serve other uses. Potato starch is manufactured from 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 139 

them and is mainly used as sizing for cotton cloth and paper. 
Glucose is manufactured from potatoes, though not so ex- 
tensively as formerly, corn having taken its place. Much 
is being written of the desirability of manufacturing 
alcohol from potatoes, though they have always been a 
source of its production. The reasons for developing this 
industry are the new uses for alcohol, and the low prices 
that potatoes bring in years of abundant crop, so low a price 
that the farmer cannot afford to haul them to market. At 
such a time they are used as feed for stock. 

Dried or dehydrated vegetables, as they are now called, 
are found in the market and have value. They may be 
shipped from coast to coast at a low freight rate. Because 
of the loss of water they are not bulky and will keep for an 
indefinite time, regaining much of their natural flavor and 
appearance when soaked in water. They are used only 
where fresh vegetables are unobtainable. 

Digestibility. — From experiments made in actual dietary 
studies it has been found that potatoes are easily and thor- 
oughly digested and, under normal conditions, lead to no 
digestive disturbances. In comparison with other vege- 
tables they contain a low percentage of cellulose, so but 
little of the carbohydrates escapes digestion. Digestion 
begins in the mouth with the action of ptyalin on the starch. 
As potatoes contain a very small amount of protein, there 
is practically no change in the stomach. The digestion is 
completed by the amylopsin and invertin in the intestine. 
The coefficient of digestibihty for the carbohydrates in 
potatoes is about 98 per cent, which shows that they are as 
thoroughly and completely digested as any other vegetable 
food. 

Potatoes alone furnish 12.5 per cent of the average Ameri- 



140 ROOTS AND TUBERS 

can diet. They are the only vegetable, with the exception 
of the cereals, that people will use every day in the year and 
not tire of. They are usually served with meat and other 
protein foods, to bring up the carbohydrate content and 
balance the meal. They are almost universally eaten, and 
may be classed as an indispensable article of diet, and a 
cheap food, even in seasons when the crop has not been 
up to average. They are especially valuable for their 
mineral salts, which help to keep the blood in healthy 
condition. 

Preparation. — Potatoes should be pared thin, as much 
of the protein and mineral salts are directly under the skin 
and are lost in deep paring. When pared potatoes are 
exposed to the air, they turn dark, due to the action of 
ferments in the plant which become active in the presence 
of oxygen. This may be prevented by covering the po- 
tatoes with water to exclude the air. If pared potatoes 
are soaked in cold water, much soluble protein and starch 
and mineral matter are lost. If they are plunged into boil- 
ing water, the protein is coagulated and its loss is lessened ; 
but the loss of the mineral matter remains the same. 

It will be seen that by paring the potatoes and cooking 
them in water there is a loss of nutrients that cannot be 
easily spared, and that would raise the food value of the 
potato. 

If boiled in their jackets, steamed, or baked, potatoes 
lose an inappreciable percentage of nutrients and have a 
better flavor. 

Cooking. — The object of cooking potatoes is to release 
the starch from the cell walls. It is stored in minute cells 
which contain starch, water, and some protein, and heat 
causes the starch to absorb the water and swell. When 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 



141 



this is accomplished, any excess water should pass off as 
steam, and the result should be a flaky, mealy potato. To 
release the steam, baked potatoes should be pierced, and 
all potatoes should be served in an uncovered dish. Cook- 
ing also coagulates the protein, hberates the volatile oils, 




Changes of Starch Cells in Cooking. 

a, Cells of a raw potato with starch grains in natural condition; b, cells of a partially 
cooked potato; c, cells of a thoroughly boiled potato. (From Farmers' Bulletin, No. 
389, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 

and may change some of the starch to dextrin. It devel- 
ops the flavor and makes them palatable. 

Sweet Potatoes are like potatoes in structure and very 
similar in composition. They contain, however, 26 per 
cent carbohydrates, of which about 16 per cent is starch 
and 10 per cent sugar, though this proportion varies 
greatly. The northern sweet potatoes, as the Jerseys, 
contain more starch (20 per cent starch) and cook drier 
and meaher than the southern type, in which the sugar is 
in greater proportion. 

Sweet potatoes contain 69 per cent water, — 9 per cent 
less than potatoes. They contain 1.3 per cent cellulose, 
which accounts for the longer time that it takes to cook 
them. Their nutritive ratio is about i : 20, but the fuel 
value is higher than that of potatoes. They yield 570 
calories per pound. 



142 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 



Cooking. — Because the ratio of starch to sugar varies 
so greatly in the different varieties, the effect of heat on 
them brings out different characteristics. Heat causes 
starch to swell, to burst the cell wall, and the whole mass to 
become flaky. It causes sugar to dissolve in the water 
and become sirupy. The sweet potato, with 20 per cent 
or more of starch, is dry and mealy, and sKghtly sweet, and 
suits the northern taste. The sweet potato containing 
10-13 per cent sugar is moist and very sweet, and cannot 
be served so universally as potatoes, because many people 
do not care for it. Sweet potatoes are best baked, though 
they are often boiled and served in many other ways. 

Place in the Diet. — As sweet potatoes have practically 
the same nutritive value as potatoes, they must supplant 
them in the diet in districts or countries where they are 
raised. In those places they are as cheap as potatoes 
and as well liked. In the northern market 6 pounds are 
sometimes sold for 25 cents, and hence they cannot take the 
place of potatoes selKng at i to i| cents a pound. Their 
place, then, is to add variety to the diet. 

Succulent Roots and Tubers 
Average Coaiposition or Edible Portion 



Food 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Cellulose 


Mineral 

Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Beets . . 


87.5 


1.6 


.1 


8.8 


•9 


I.I 


Celeriac 


84.1 


1-5 




4 


11.8 


1.4 


.8 


Carrots 


88.2 


I.I 




4 


8.2 


I.I 


I. 


Parsnips 


83 


1.6 




5 


II. 


2.5 


1.4 


Salsify . . 


85-4 


4-3 




3 


6.8 


2. 


1.2 


Turnips 


89.6 


1-3 




2 


6.8 


1-3 


.8 


Rutabagas . 


88.9 


1-3 




2 


7-3 


1.2 


I.I 


Onions . . 


87.6 


1.6 




3 


9.1 


.8 


.6 



ROOTS AND TUBERS 143 

The succulent roots and tubers contain more water and 
less nutrients than the starchy roots and tubers, and hence 
have a lower food value. They contain 7-12 per cent 
carbohydrates, 1-2.5 P^^ cent cellulose, about i per cent 
mineral salts, less than 2 per cent protein, and scarcely 
any fat. 

They are valuable additions to the diet because of their 
mineral salts, large amount of cellulose, and agreeable 
flavor, and because they furnish variety to the diet. They 
also furnish some carbohydrates. 

Roots and tubers should be stored in a cool, dry place to 
prevent them from sprouting. In the storage of all foods, 
the conditions favorable to growth and germination of the 
plant should be studied ; and from t his can be learned the 
storage conditions which best prevent germination and keep 
the food from undergoing changes that will unfit it for use 
as a food. The same thing appHes to the study of bacteria 
which cause the decay of food. Both seeds and bacteria 
need moisture, warmth, and food for development. To 
prevent their growth we keep foods in a dry, cool, and dark 
place. 

Selection. — The cellulose in old roots and tubers is 
tough and woody, and they require a much longer time for 
cooking than the young, tender ones. They also have lower 
food value. Large roots have a coarser texture also. 

Preparation. — Roots and tubers should be washed clean, 
and pared as thin as possible to prevent the loss of nutrients. 
They should be cooked whole, when possible, for the same 
reason. If a small quantity of water is used in cooking, 
there is less nutrient lost than when a large quantity is 
used. Because roots and tubers contain starch and cel- 
lulose, they cannot be served raw, but need enough cooking 



144 ROOTS AND TUBERS 

to soften the cellulose and free the starch from its covering 
and cook it. 

During cooking, vegetables undergo certain changes. 
The starch is gelatinized, the cellulose is softened, and the 
protein is coagulated. Flavors are developed and the oil 
is volatilized and escapes in the steam. Because of this 
fact, vegetables with strong flavor may be cooked in a larger 
quantity of water, ol this water may be changed during 
cooking, and the flavor will be milder. If the cover is left 
off during the cooking, the odor is not so strong because it 
escapes gradually. Some vegetables seem to retain their 
color better when cooked uncovered. Mineral matter, 
some starch, and other substances are lost when food is 
cooked in water. There is practically no loss when they 
are steamed. 

Place in the Diet. — Succulent roots and tubers and 
green vegetables together furnish but 6| per cent of the 
average American diet. It would seem that with a more 
careful study of their low cost, wide distribution, ease of 
preparation, the variety they add to the diet, their impor- 
tance as a source of mineral salts and cellulose for the body, 
they could be used more extensively. 



CHAPTER V 

GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

Vegetables have the nourishment which we take from 
them stored in different parts to supply food for the plant 
when it shall germinate. The greatest amount of this nu- 
trition is stored in the seed, and the cereals and legumes, 
being the seeds of the grains and leguminous plants, contain 
considerable nutrition. Roots and tubers are also store- 
houses of nourishment, and they contain a large amount 
of carbohydrate in the form of starch or sugar. The 
leaves are the means by which the plant takes in car- 
bon dioxide and gives out oxygen, and they contain very 
little nourishment, their bulk being due to the cellulose. 
In green vegetables, which are chiefly the leaves and stems 
of plants, we expect to find little nourishment. The green 
vegetables with which we are most familiar are asparagus, 
celery, cress, endive, cucumbers, squash, lettuce, spinach, and 
tomatoes. 

Composition of Green Vegetables 



Food 


Refuse 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Mineral 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Cabbage . 


15-5 


77-7 


1.4 


.2 


4.8 


•9 


Celery . . 


20. 


7S.6 


-9 


.1 


2.6 


.8 


Cucumbers 


IS- 


81. 1 


-7 


.2 


2.6 


.4 


Lettuce 


IS- 


80.5 


I.O 


.2 


2-5 


.8 


Spinach 




92.3 


2.1 


•3 


3-2 


2.1 


Tomatoes . 




94-3 


-9 


-4 


3-9 


.6 



CONLEY, N. & D. — lO 



145 



146 GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

Composition and Uses. — Green vegetables contain .7-2.1 
per cent protein; .1-.3 per cent fat; 2.5-4.8 per cent 
carbohydrate, chiefly cellulose; .4-2.1 per cent mineral 
matter. The fuel value of any of them scarcely exceeds 
100 calories per pound. In spite of this fact, they are valu- 
able foods, for they contain a high percentage of base-form- 
ing elements and tend to keep the blood alkaline and to 
lower the acidity of the urine. Spinach, dandelion greens, 
cabbage, lettuce, and asparagus contain considerable iron. 
The carbohydrate in green vegetables is principally cel- 
lulose, and as there is little or no nutrient mixed with it, 
the main purpose in eating it is to furnish bulk for the 
intestines to act on. 

Place in Diet. — With few exceptions, green vegetables 
should be eaten raw, because mineral matter is lost in water 
in which they are cooked and because the cellulose serves 
its purposes best in a crisp form. When green vegetables 
are eaten fresh, as they should be, with salad oil added, 
they form an agreeable addition to a meal. Except in the 
country where they are raised, they are not a cheap food 
and are extremely perishable, and when stale are of little 
use, as their attractiveness depends on crispness. When- 
ever it is possible, they should be added to the meal, because 
of their effect on the fluids of the body in counteracting 
acidity, and because they furnish mineral matter needed 
for other purposes. 

Green vegetables differ from all other classes of foods 
in that they cannot be called either tissue-building or heat 
and energy yielding foods, for it would hardly be possible 
to eat one pound of them at a meal and even a pound will 
not yield 100 calories of heat. They show that foods are 
needed for other purposes, for they furnish mineral matter 



GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 147 

and cellulose, both absolutely necessary to keep the body 
in health. 

Fruits. — Green vegetables and fruits are frequently 
considered together when calculating their place in the 
diet. Some fruits are classed with green vegetables because 
they are served as such, as tomatoes, cucumbers, and 
squash. Some fruits, like nuts, have so high a nutritive 
value that they are classed separately. 

Fruits differ greatly in nutritive value. Some, like ba- 
nanas, figs, olives, plums, prunes, and grapes, have as high 
a fuel value as the cereals. Muskmelons, watermelons, 
peaches, and pears have nearly as low a fuel value as the 
green vegetables. 

Composition. — All fruits are alike, however, in that they 
contain scarcely any protein. All but olives have only a 
trace of fat ; they all contain vegetable acids, mineral 
matter, and as much carbohydrate as the roots and tubers. 

The nutritive value of fruits depends on the acids, which 
decompose in the body, forming alkaline carbonates and 
thus help to keep the blood alkaline and lower the acidity 
of the urine ; it depends also on the mineral matter, and on 
the carbohydrates. 

The carbohydrates in fruits are in the form of sugars, — 
cane, grape, fruit, — " pectin bodies," and cellulose. From 
the table showing the composition of fruits, it will be seen 
that they contain considerable cellulose, and to this and the 
mineral salts fruits owe their laxative properties. 

In some unripe fruit, the carbohydrate is mainly starch 
and cellulose, and during ripening the acids and ferments 
change them to sugars. For this reason bananas, which 
contain a great deal of starch as they are usually marketed, 
are hard to digest. They should not be eaten until the 



148 GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

skins begin to turn black, or they should be served cooked. 
Many fruits contain a carbohydrate called pectose or pectin, 
which gives to the juice its gelatinizing power. It occurs 
in greatest abundance just before the fruit is ripe, or when 
ripe, and disappears as the fruit becomes overripe. It 
seems to be most abundant in the skin and around the core. 
Apples, currants, grapes, plums, and cranberries contain 
more of it than the other fruits. For this reason they make 
the best jelly. 

Preservation. — Certain oxidizing agents, as ferments, 
present in fruit, act on substances in it, so, when it is ex- 
posed to the air, cut fruit turns black ; for the same reason 
bruised fruit discolors. Fruits are not attacked by bac- 
teria because they are too acid, but molds thrive well on 
them. The method of packing lemons, oranges, and 
grapes, so as to keep them dry and prevent the growth of 
molds, is finding favor with apple growers. If fruits are 
carefully picked, so that they will have no bruised spots, 
and then wrapped in paper to keep them dry, their keeping 
qualities are enhanced 500 per cent. 

Food Values and Uses of Fruit. — Although the modern 
methods of shipping, packing, and raising fruits have 
lowered the prices so that nearly all people can purchase 
them in season, fruits are not a cheap food. They have 
almost a medicinal value in the diet, and it is to be deplored 
that those who are able to purchase them do not make even 
greater use of them. They furnish 3.8 per cent of the aver- 
age American diet ; and if more were used, they would lower 
the amount of medicine consumed. 

Place in the Diet. — It should be remembered that if 
patent flour is used in the home, fruits and green vegetables 
must be served in abundance, to supply the needed mineral 



GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 149 

salts and counteract the tendency to rheumatism, and uric 
acid formation in the blood and tissues. Fruits contain 
from I to 7 per cent vegetable acids and less than i per cent 
mineral matter in the form of phosphorus, lime, iron, and 
potassium salts, and together they have a great effect on 
controlling acidity in blood, tissues, and excretions. Be- 
cause of the great amount of water, cellulose, and mineral 
matter they aid the large intestine to rid the system of 
waste. In addition to this, they have a food value equal 
to roots and tubers, are relished by every one, and add 
variety to the diet. 

Nuts. — Nuts do not furnish any great part in the Amer- 
ican diet, . I per cent of the fat being the only figure given 
in the dietary studies. They are used principally in confec- 
tionery, and though much is heard of the desirability of a 
diet of fruit and nuts, only a few people seem to care to 
try it, probably because such a diet would lack savor. 
Nuts are a concentrated food, and not easily digested. 
They escape mastication, and the vegetable fat is hard to 
digest. It would seem that if it were not for the digestive 
disturbances which they cause if eaten in quantity, they 
would find a place in the diet. When a food so attractive, 
plentiful, and well hked as nuts, has found so small a place 
in the diet, it must be because they do not agree with the 
average person. As in other things, use is a good guide to 
determine the value of a food. 



ISO 



GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 
Composition of Fruits 



Kind of Fruit 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Cellu- 
lose 


Mineral 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Apples .... 


84.6 


•4 


•5 


13. 


1.2 


3 


Apricots 




85. 


I 


I 




13-4 






5 


Bananas 




75-3 


I 


3 


.6 


21. 


I. 




3 


Blackberries 




86.3 


I 


3 


I, 


8.4 


2.5 




S 


Cherries 




8C.9 


I 




.8 


16.5 


.2 




6 


Cranberries 




88.9 




4 


.6 


8.4 


1.4 


I 


S 


Currants 




85. 


I 


5 




12.8 






7 


Grapes . . 




77-4 


I 


3 


1.6 


14.9 


4.3 




5 


Lemons 




89-3 


I 




•7 


7.4 


I.I 




5 


Muskmelons 




89.5 




6 




7.2 


2.1 




6 


Olives . . 




67,0 


2 


5 


17. 1 


5-7, 


3-3 


4 


4 


Oranges 




86.9 




8 


.2 


11.6^ 






.S 


Peaches 




89.4 




7 


.1 


5.8 


3.6 




4 


Pears . . 




80.9 


I 




•5 


15-7 


1-5 




4 


Pineapples 




89-3 




4 


•3 


9-3 


•4 




3 


Plums . . 


. 


78.4 


I 






20.1 






5 


Raspberries, red . 


85.8 


I 




. . 


9-7 


2.9 




6 


Raspberries, black 


84.1 


I 


7 


I. 


12.6 






6 


Strawberries . . 


90.4 


I 




.6 


6. 


1.4 




6 


Watermelons . . 


92.4 




4 


.2 


6.7 






•3 



Composition of Dried Fruits 



Kind of Fruit 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Cellu- 
lose 


Mineral 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Apples .... 


26.1 


1.6 


2.2 


62. 


6.1 


2.0 


Apricots 








29.4 


4-7 


I. 


62.5 




2.4 


Citrons 








19. 


•5 


1-5 


78.1 


. . 


•9 


Dates . 








iS-4 


2.1 


2.8 


74.6 


3.8 


1-3 


Figs . 








18.8 


4-3 


.3 


68. 


6.2 


2.4 


Pears . 








16.6 


2.8 


5-4 


66. 


6.9 


2.4 


Prunes . 








22.3 


2.1 




71.2 


2.1 


2.3 


Raisins 








14.6 


2.6 


3-3 


73-6 


2.5 


3-4 


Currants 








17.2 


2.4 


1.7 


71.2 


3- 


4-5 



GREEN VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

Composition of Nuts 



151 



/ 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Cellu- 
lose 


Mineral 

M ATTER 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Almonds . . . 


4-5 


21. 


54-9 


17-3 


2. 


2. 


Hickory nuts 


3-7 


15-4 


67.4 


II.4 


, , 


2.1 


Pecans .... 


2.7 


9.6 


70-5 


15-3 


, , 


1.9 


Walnuts . . . 


2-5 


18.4 


64.4 


13- 


1.4 


1.7 



CHAPTER VI 
BEVERAGES AND CONDIMENTS 

Beverages. — Tea and coffee, the two common bever- 
ages, are alike in several respects. They have no food 
value except in the cream and sugar sometimes added in 
serving, and both contain volatile oils to which they owe 
their flavor and aroma and which stimulate peristalsis ; both 
contain alkaloids that are stimulants, and that act directly 
on the heart, nerves, and brain. They are injurious in the 
same way that al] other stimulants are injurious, because 
brain, nerves, and heart have normal action, and any- 
thing that accelerates or disturbs that action deranges the 
nervous system. The action may be slight, or it may be 
marked, but there is always some effect. During sickness 
or in emergencies, the heart or brain may need stimulants, 
but in health, especially in childhood and youth, while 
the body is growing and developing, the nervous system 
should not be unduly stimulated. 

Tea consists of the leaves of a plant grown most exten- 
sively in China, Japan, and India. There are two varie- 
ties, and many grades of tea, and all may be produced from 
the same plant. The two varieties, green and black tea, 
owe their differences in color, flavor, and aroma to the 
methods of drying and curing. Green teas are roasted 
for about five minutes, then rolled and dried, the whole 
process taking about one hour. Black teas are spread 

152 



BEVERAGES AND CONDIMENTS 153 

in the open air, and when partially dried, are rolled and 
allowed to ferment during the slow drying process which 
follows. The slow drying develops flavor and color. 
Some teas are flavored by mixing flowers with them while 
drying, as the Orange Pekoe brand. The buds and small 
leaves produce the choicest varieties of tea. 

Coffee is the seed or berry of a tropical plant. The dif- 
ferent brands or varieties in the market have taken their 
names from the countries or cities from which they were 
first exported. The names Mocha, Java, and Rio no 
longer mean that those brands are produced and manu- 
factured in the places indicated by their names, for most 
of the coffee comes from South America, largely from Brazil. 

The dififerences in flavor and aroma are due to two rea- 
sons. The length of time that the berries are roasted 
produces a difference in color, — some being roasted to a 
reddish brown, some to a dark brown ; this affects flavor. 
Some berries are picked green, some are gathered when they 
have turned red, some are left until they are purple or ripe. 
The stage of maturity at which they are gathered also 
affects flavor, and by the variation in time of gathering 
and methods of roasting, the different grades are pro- 
duced. 

Chocolate and Cocoa. — Unlike tea and coffee, chocolate 
and cocoa are foods and have high nutritive value. Like 
tea and coffee, they contain a milk alkaloid which has a 
sKght stimulating effect on the nervous system. 

A tropical tree, called the cacao tree, produces seeds 
from which chocolate and cocoa are manufactured. The 
seeds are called cocoa beans, and, when roasted and freed 
from the outside hull or covering, are the cocoa nibs of 
commerce. 



154 



BEVERAGES AND CONDIMENTS 



The cocoa nibs are broken, and then ground fine and 
thus the unsweetened chocolate of trade is made. The 
sweetened brands have sugar, and sometimes flavor, added. 

Cocoa is manufactured by depriving the ground choco- 
late of some of its fat. The fat that is removed is called 
cocoa butter and is used in medicine and drugs, and, to 
some extent, in cooking and in confectionery. 

Food Value of Chocolate and Cocoa. — It will be seen 

from the following table that both chocolate and cocoa 

have a high food value and rank with the concentrated 

foods : 

Composition of Chocolate and Cocoa 



Food 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Mineral 
Matter 


Chocolate 
Cocoa 


Per Cent 
5-9 

4.6 


Per Cent 
12.9 
21.6 


Per Cent 
48.7 
28.9 


Per Cent 

30.3 

37-7 


Per Cent 
2.2 
7.2 



Chocolate contains a high percentage of fat, and this 
being vegetable fat, it is harder to digest than animal fat. 
Unless mixed or eaten with a protein food it makes a 
poorly balanced product; and when manufactured into 
chocolate creams or candy more carbohydrate is added, 
which further increases the high fuel value. 

It does not seem possible that a normal digestive appa- 
ratus can take care of the quantities of chocolate creams 
that some individuals consume. The test, probably never 
appHed, is whether that consumer has normal health, 
vitahty, and resistant power, or is subject to digestive dis- 
orders attributed to other causes. Over consumption of 
sugar and candy is an excess and is as much a menace to 
health as are other excesses. It leads to loss of appetite 



BEVERAGES AND CONDIMENTS 155 

for wholesome foods, eating at irregular times, formation 
of acids in the stomach, indigestion, and other ills. 

The subject of candy is discussed in connection with 
chocolate because chocolate creams are consumed to so 
great an extent and are harder to digest than most candies. 
The man working out of doors or the mountain climber 
may be able to digest a pound of creams with no great 
difficulty, but the dehcate girl, who cannot digest meat and 
vegetables, must possess a specially designed digestive 
apparatus to do so and maintain health. 

Chocolate is a nutritious and wholesome food, if used in 
moderation. It makes a very nutritious and appetizing bev- 
erage ; and, if made with skim milk, the protein content can 
be raised so that it will form a balanced food. The fat in 
cocoa is usually treated so that it is emulsified more readily 
than that in chocolate and is more easily digested. In the 
manufacturing of cocoa nearly 50 per cent of the fat is 
removed. Cocoa is a protein food, having a nutritive ratio 
of I : 4. 

Condiments are aromatic substances that are added to 
foods to furnish flavor and that stimulate the Hning of the 
stomach and increase the flow of the digestive juice. They 
have practically no food value, and in most cases, their 
flavor is due to the presence of volatile oils that can be 
extracted and that are sold for medicinal purposes, as 
oil of cloves, oil of mustard, etc. The condiments in com- 
mon use are cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mustard, pepper, 
allspice, nutmeg. Many aromatic herbs, as sage, mint, dill, 
and parsley, are used as condiments. 



CHAPTER VII 
ANIMAL FOODS 

Animal foods are classified as : — 

1. Meats, which include poultry and game. 

2. Fish, which include shellfish. 

3. Animal products, which include eggs, milk, butter, 
and cheese. 

The rank and importance of the different animal foods, 
according to use, may be judged from the following table 
compiled from the dietary studies. 

Use and Composition of Animal Foods 



Food 


Total Food 
Material Used 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Beef and veal . . 
Pork and lard . . 
Lamb and mutton . 
Poultry .... 


Per Cent 
7.2 
7.2 

•9 

.7 


Per Cent 

16.7 

9-3 
2.1 

1.6 


Per Cent 

13.2 

42.1 

2.6 

•9 


Per Cent 


Fish 

Eggs 


1.8 
2.1 


3-5 
4.1 


1.0 
2.9 




Milk and cream 
Butter .... 
Cheese .... 


16.5 
1.6 

•3 


8.7 
.3 

I.O 


8.0 

16.6 

I.I 


3.6 



Milk furnishes the greatest proportion of the total food 
material ; beef, the greatest amount of protein ; pork, the 
greatest amount of fat. Beef and milk furnish the great- 

156 



ANIMAL FOODS 



157 



est amount of animal protein and are the two most impor- 
tant animal foods. Wheat is more important as a source 
of protein, however, than either, or than both together, for 
it furnishes 28.5 per cent of all protein used. 

Composition of Meats 



Composition of 
Meat 


Refuse 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Mineral 
Matter 


Beef, fresh 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Chuck, ribs . 
Loin, medium 
Ribs ... 
Round, me- 


16.3 
13-3 
20.8 


52.6 
52.5 
43-8 


15 

15-6 
13-5 


14.3 
16.6 
20. 




.6 

.7 

•5 


dium . , . 
Shoulder and 


7.2 


60.7 


18.4 


12.2 




.8 


clod . . . 
Beef, dried 


16.4 


56.8 


15-9 


9-3 




•7 


and smoked 
Veal: 


4.7 


53-7 


25.6 


6.6 




5-5 


Cutlets, round 
Leg ... 
Mutton : 


3.4 
14.2 


68.3 
60.1 


19-5 
15 


7.1 

7-5 




.8 

•7 


Leg . . . 
Loin . . . 
Pork, fresh: 


18.4 
16. 


51.2 
42. 


14.6 
I3-I 


14. 
26.9 




.6 

•5 


Loin chops 
Ham . . . 
Pork, salted 


19.7 
10.7 


41.8 
48. 


13. 
I3-I 


23- 
24.6 




.6 
.6 


and smoked 














Bacon . . . 
Ham . . . 
Salt, fat . . 
Poultry : 


7-7 
13.6 


17.4 

34-8 

7-9 


8.8 

13.8 

1.8 


59-1 
31-7 
81.9 


' ■ t 


3-1 
3-2 
2.9 


Fowl . . . 
Turkey . . 


25-9 
22.7 


47-1 
42.4 


^3-3 
15-6 


II. 7 
17-5 




•5 
.6 



Similarities and Differences. — Meats, which include 
beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, venison, poultry, and 
game, are similar in structure, composition, nutritive 



158 ANIMAL FOODS 

value, and digestibility. In fact, the different meats vary 
less in these factors, than do the different cuts of the same 
animal. There are the following differences, however : 
The meat of a young animal contains more bone in propor- 
tion to flesh and has more refuse than the meat of an older 
animal. The flesh of young animals contains more water, 
veal and lamb containing more water than beef and mut- 
ton. The older animals have more fat, the fat taking the 
place of the water in the younger animal. The amount 
of protein is practically the same in all. The kind of pro- 
tein varies, young animals being rich in albuminoids, old 
animals having more nitrogenous extractives. Fat meats 
are harder to digest than the lean meats, because the fat 
interferes with the action of the gastric juice on the pro- 
tein. Meats with close fibers are harder to digest than those 
with loose fibers, because the digestive juices cannot pene- 
trate them readily. 

Meats contain a certain amount of refuse, which consists 
of bone, fat, and skin, and which is usually trimmed off 
at the market. The amount varies from 3.4 per cent in 
veal cutlets to 25.9 per cent in fowl. It averages about 
17 per cent in beef, mutton, and pork. As the part con- 
sidered refuse is usually trimmed off after the meat is 
weighed, its loss increases the cost of the edible portion. 
The amount of water in meat varies from 42 per cent to 
68 per cent, being greatest in young animals. 

The amount of fat in any cut of meat as it is prepared for 
serving cannot easily be calculated. Some fat is always 
trimmed off at the market, some is trimmed off before 
cooking, a considerable quantity is lost, during cooking, and 
each individual leaves some on the plate, the amount left 
depending on the taste. An example of this loss may be 



ANIMAL FOODS 



159 



given: A pork loin roast was purchased at the market 
already trimmed for sale. It then weighed 3J pounds. 
Some extra fat was removed, and when it was prepared for 
roasting it weighed 3 pounds. When removed from the 
oven it weighed 2 pounds i ounce, and of that amount 6 
ounces were bone. The loss during cooking was due to 
evaporation of water and loss of fat. A rough estimate 
would show that, of the amount purchased, but one half 
was available for nutrition. The loss is even greater in 
other cuts or in other meats. The butcher trims the pork, 
before it is weighed, more closely than other meats, because 
the fat is more valuable to him. The protein in meat va- 
ries from 13 per cent to 19 per cent in the different cuts, and 
constitutes the one constant factor. In fact the nutritive 
value of meat may be said to depend on its protein. Meat 
contains less than i per cent mineral matter and no car- 
bohydrate. 

Structure. — Meat consists of bone, fat, and muscle. 
The bone of meat is about half soHds and half water. The 
solid part consists of mineral matter, chiefly calcium phos- 
phate, and animal matter, which is chiefly fat and ossein, 
— a form of albuminoids. The fat and ossein can be 
extracted by long boiling or by burning, and the mineral 
matter remains. 

The fat is stored in cell walls of connective tissue. In 
the animal it occurs around the internal organs, between 
the muscle fibers, and under the skin. It is harder in some 
animals than in others, depending on the proportion of 
olein and stearin in the fat. Pork fat has more olein than 
mutton and is softer for that reason. 

Muscle fiber consists of bundles of fibers or hollow tubes 
bound together by connective tissue with more or less fat 



i6o ANIMAL FOODS 

interspersed between the fibers. The connective tissue 
and the tubes are composed of collagen and elastin, 
forms of connective tissue, and they can be dissolved by 
boiling. The tubes contain various proteins, albumins, 
globuHns, and compound proteins which are in most 
cases coagulated by heat, also nitrogenous extractives 
and water. 

The single muscle tubes, freed from fat and connective 
tissue, are the tissue-building part of the meat and for that 
reason the most important. They are composed of 75.5 
per cent water, and 24.5 per cent solids, which consist of 
myosin, albumin, collagen, extractives, salts, traces of fat 
and glycogen, and compound proteins . Myosin is the chief 
protein in meat and forms 7-8 per cent of it. The extrac- 
tives vary in amount, more being present in red meat than 
in light-colored. They give to meat its characteristic 
flavor. Old animals have more than young, and beef has 
more than mutton. 

The amount of connective tissue, which binds the muscle 
fibers together, and the thickness of the muscle tubes vary 
in different animals and in different cuts of the same animal. 
In muscles like those in the leg and neck, that are much used, 
they are very strong and tough. Along the backbone, where 
the muscles are not exercised much, they are thin and easily 
softened. 

Digestibility. — If raw meat could be served in an ap- 
petizing way and if there were no possibiUty that it con- 
tained microorganisms injurious to health, it would be 
more easily digested than cooked meat, because the coagu- 
lation of the protein affects its digestibility. Flavor has 
much to do with appetite and digestibihty, however, and 
cooking brings out the flavors, so that a palatable meat 




w 
w 
oq 



H 

u 



ANIMAL FOODS i6i 

calls out more digestive juices than a meat lacking in flavor. 
Meat is not always free from parasites, and the prevalence of 
tuberculosis and other diseases among cattle makes the 
precaution of cooking necessary. 

As meat is almost wholly protein, its digestion takes place 
in the stomach, where the pepsin changes albumins to pep- 
tones. As no fat is digested in the stomach, the amount 
of fat mixed with the lean meat affects the ease of diges- 
tibility. The fat surrounds the protein and retards stomach 
digestion. 

The amount of connective tissue, regulating as it does 
the tenderness or toughness of the meat, is also a factor in 
determining the ease or quickness of digestion. Very little 
is known, however, as to the relative digestibility of cer- 
tain meats. It is said that beef ranks first, mutton second, 
veal probably third, and pork last, because of the closeness 
of its fibers and because it contains so much fat. Absorp- 
tion of meat is quite complete, its coefficient of digestibility 
being 98 per cent. 

Food Value and Place in the Diet. — Meat is the chief 
and the most important tissue-building food. It is like the 
human body in structure and composition, and it fully 
suppHes the needs of the tissues, and is easily and thor- 
oughly digested and assimilated when taken in the proper 
amounts. Because of the nitrogenous extractives, it stimu- 
lates the cells so that people who eat animal food seem to 
have a more vigorous vitality than those who Hve solely 
on vegetable foods. 

Meat or protein goes through various changes in the body 
and is finally broken down in the cells into water, carbon 
dioxide, and the nitrogenous waste, urea. Urea is ehmi- 
nated through the kidneys, and an excess of protein food 

CONLEY, N. & D. — 11 



i62 ANIMAL FOODS 

overworks the kidneys in their effort to get rid of the ni- 
trogenous waste. 

Proteins are also oxidized to yield energy, and if they are 
taken in excess, urea and other decomposition products of 
protein metabolism overload the system. The danger for 
the average person, then, is that, because of the attractive- 
ness and flavor of meat, more will be consumed than is 
needed to repair tissue waste, and harm is done. For the 
poor, the problem is how to secure the needed protein from 
the sum which they have available for sustenance. 

The nutritive ratio of meat depends on the amount of 
fat. This is a difficult thing to calculate, because much 
fat is trimmed from the meat and thrown away as waste, 
much fat is lost in cooking, and much is left unconsumed on 
serving platter and individual plates. From the same cut 
of meat, one individual might consume twice as much as 
another. 

While the relative nutritive value varies from i : J to 
1:3, the absolute nutritive value of any meat depends on 
the amount of the fat eaten. The protein is a fairly con- 
stant quantity, and so meat will always rank first as the 
chief tissue-building food. 

The food value of anything depends not only on composi- 
tion and digestibility, but also on the cost. Meat is ex- 
pensive food. It is the greatest item of expense in the die- 
tary and the first thing that is struck out when economy is 
necessary. Even the cheaper cuts are not cheap, when we 
consider the time and fuel needed to make them palatable 
and appetizing. Then, too, the poorer classes are ignorant 
of ways to utilize the cheaper cuts. With the use of the 
fireless cooker the items of time and fuel in preparation are 
almost eliminated. It does not seem likely that meat will 



ANIMAL FOODS 163 

become cheaper, because it is a question of supply and 
and demand. Consumption tends to overtake production 
and the result is high-priced foods. The solution of the 
problem seems to be, to learn how to utilize the cheaper 
cuts of meat, to make use of cheese, milk, cereals, and 
legumes for protein, and to make more careful studies of 
bodily requirements. 

The place of meat in the diet is to supply the greater 
part of the protein needed to make a nutritive ration of 
1 : 6j. It is best to take meat at one meal and depend on 
eggs, cheese, milk, cereals, and legumes to supply the re- 
mainder of the protein needed. 

Beef 

Beef, to be good, must come from a healthy, well nour- 
ished animal. In good beef the best cuts are fine-grained, 
well mottled with fat and lean, and bright red in color after 
being exposed to the air. If there is a thick layer of firm, 
light-colored fat over the loin and rib cuts, the flesh will be 
juicier and better flavored than when there is little or no 
fat over these cuts. In the latter case what fat there is, 
is dark-colored, and the meat is tough and dry. The animal 
is old, underfed, or losing flesh. 

The loin and rib cuts are finer-grained and more tender 
than the other cuts and require less cooking. They are the 
finest cuts, for steaks and roasts. The other cuts are not 
so tender, but are juicier, and some of them contain less bone 
than the finer cuts, and when properly cooked are as well 
flavored and equal to the loin and rib cuts in palatability. 

The less tender cuts require long, slow cooking to soften 
the connective tissue and for this reason do not make the 



i64 ANIMAL FOODS 

finest steaks and roasts. As less than twenty-five per cent 
of the beef is contained in the loin and rib cuts, they sell 
for a much higher price than round, chuck, or any other 
cuts, because the profit must come from the finer cuts. 
Many people, who cannot afford it, buy these expensive 
cuts, because they do not know how to cook the other parts 
and make them attractive and appetizing. The Atwater 
tables show that those cheaper cuts are just as nutritious 
as the others. Some of them contain less bone, and they 
are much cheaper, and when properly cooked, are deh- 
ciously flavored and more satisfactory than the badly 
cooked steak or dry roast. 

Tough and Tender Meats. — The amount of connective 
tissue in a cut of meat determines its tenderness and tough- 
ness. The acids which develop in meat that has been hung 
or kept for a long time, soften the connective tissue so that 
meat in the first stage of decomposition is fairly tender. 
If meat is rubbed with oil and vinegar and allowed to stand 
over night, the connective tissue is also softened. 

Long, slow cooking in water at or just above the simmer- 
ing point also softens the connective tissue, while boiling 
dissolves it. For this reason tough cuts of meat should 
have long, slow cooking to make them tender. 

The amount of fat found in muscle fiber varies greatly. 
Sometimes it is wholly absent. It has been found that 
when beef cattle are fattened for slaughter, the fat is stored 
in the muscle fiber, making a tender piece of meat. When 
dairy cattle are fattened, very little of the fat is deposited 
in the muscle, but is put on in thick layers around the 
internal organs and under the skin. Meat with some fat 
between the muscle fibers is more tender and delicious than 
the drier meat. Very few people realize that there are two 





Rib 



Rib 





Rump 




Chuck 



Round 



Cuts of Beef 



ANIMAL FOODS 



I6S 



kinds of cattle, beef cattle and dairy cattle, and while both 
are used as meat, the beef cattle always furnish a different 
meat from that of the dairy cattle. 

When the animal is slaughtered, the myosin, the chief 
protein in meat, is more or less tender though insipid in 
flavor. After 24 hours the myosin becomes solid and what 
is known as rigor mortis sets in, the meat becomes tough 
and remains so until the first stage of decomposition is 
reached, when the developed acids, sarcolactic acid and acid 
phosphate, change the myosin to syntonin. These acids 
also soften the connective tissue and develop flavor. Meat 
should hang from 3 weeks to 6 months, depending on the 
storage accommodation. 



Composition of Cuts of Beef 
As Purchased 





Refuse 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


MlNER-AL 

Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Chuck .... 


16.3 


52.6 


15-5 


15.0 




.8 


Flank .... 


10.2 


54-0 


17.0 


19.0 




.7 


Loin .... 


^2,-3 


52.5 


16.I 


17.5 




•9 


Porterhouse . . 


12.7 


52.4 


19.I 


17.9 




.8 


Sirloin .... 


12.8 


S4.0 


16.5 


16.I 




•9 


Neck .... 


27.6 


45.9 


14.5 


II.9 




•7 


Ribs .... 


20.8 


43.8 


13.9 


21.2 




•7 


Round .... 


7.2 


60.7 


19.0 


12.8 




I.O 


Rump .... 


20.7 


45-0 


13-8 


20.2 




.7 


Shank fore . . 


36.9 


42.9 


12.8 


7-3 




.6 


Shoulder and 














clod . . . 


16.4 


56.8 


16.4 


9.8 




•9 


Fore quarter 


18.7 


49.1 


14-5 


17-5 




.7 


Hind quarter 


15.7 


50.4 


15-4 


18.3 




.7 



i66 ANIMAL FOODS 

Cutting of Beef. — Beef is sold to the retail dealer cut in 
halves, and the halves of beef are then divided into hind and 
fore quarters by cutting between the twelfth and thirteenth 
ribs, leaving one rib in the hind quarter. The flank is cut 
from the hind quarter, leaving the loin, rump, round, and 
shank. The loin includes the porterhouse, sirloin, and ten- 
derloin cuts. The fore quarter is cut across the ribs. The 
lower part includes the plate, clod, and shank. The upper 
part includes the rib, chuck, and neck. 

Loin. — This cut includes short steaks, porterhouse, 
sirloin, and tenderloin. The tenderloin is a long muscle 
that may be stripped from beneath the loin, but when it is 
rem.oved it destroys the value of the porterhouse steak. 
The first few cuts from the loin are called short or club steaks 
because they contain no tenderloin. Steaks cut from the 
beginning of the tenderloin to the hook bone are called por- 
terhouse. They are the choicest and highest-priced cuts 
in the beef. The remaining cuts in the loin are the 
sirloin. 

The tenderloin, when sold separately, is deficient in fat 
and hence must be larded and then roasted or broiled. 
The loin is cut into steaks and broiled, occasionally sold as 
roasts, though more expensive than the rib cuts and no 
finer for roasting. 

Rib. — This cut consists of seven ribs, called prime ribs. 
The cut is made close to the shoulder blade and separates 
it from the chuck. It is sold as roasts, being cut into one, 
two, or three rib pieces. A one rib piece usually weighs 
about four pounds. The ribs are removed and the piece 
rolled and called a rolled roast. If the ribs are left in, it 
is called a standing roast. Dealers sometimes remove the 
ribs from the cut and sell it as steaks, called small steaks. 



ANIMAL FOODS 167 

Round. — This cut consists of a very juicy, lean muscle 
and but little bone. It is sold as steaks, roasts, and 
for beef tea and beef juice. It is excellent for pot 
roast, stews, braizing, and casserole of beef, and for beef 
loaf. 

Rump. — This cut contains the end of the hip bone and 
joint. There is considerable bone, but the remainder makes 
very good steaks and roasts. It is also excellent for pot 
roasts, braizing, stews, and mincemeat. 

Chuck. — This cut is next to the prime ribs and similar 
to it, but contains more bone and gristle and is not so tender. 
It makes a very good, though large, roast and is sometimes 
sold as steaks and by some preferred to the round, because 
it is mottled with fat. It is excellent for stews, pot roast, 
boiling, braizing, and mincemeat. 

Clod. — This cut is back of the brisket and below the 
chuck. It is sold for boiling, stews, braizing, and mince- 
meat. 

Flank. — This cut comes from below the loin. It is 
boneless and coarse, but of good flavor. Flank steak is 
sometimes cut from the lean muscle on the inside of the 
flank. This steak may be scored across the grain and 
broiled. It is also rolled and braized. Flank cut is used 
for stews and boiling, and is rolled and corned. 

Neck. — This cut contains juicy, tough meat. It is 
used in stews, soup, and Hambui^g steaks. 

Plate. — This cut comes from below the ribs. It has 
layers of fat and lean and the ends of the ribs. It is used 
for boiling and corning. 

Shank. — These cuts are the fore and hind legs. They 
are tough and contain bone and tendons. They are used 
for soup and mincemeat. 



i68 ANIMAL FOODS 

NITROGENOUS FOODS IN MEAT 

1. True Protein. 
Albumin. 

Serum in blood, muscle in muscle. 

Soluble in cold water, coagulates at about i6o° F. 
Globulin. 

Myosin, myogen, fibrin. 

Soluble in dilute salt and alkali. 
Nucleoalbumin. 
Compound proteins. 

Nucleoprotein, chromoprotein. 

2. Albuminoids. 
Ossein in bone. 

Collagen in connective tissue. 
Elastin in tubes. 

Dissolved by moist heat, softened by acid. 

Hydrated to gelatin. 

3. Nitrogenous Extractives. 
Kreatin, kreatenin, etc. 

EFFECT OF HEAT ON MEAT 



Dry Heat (that is, heat in dry air), 

applied to tender meat. 
Broiling, Roasting. 

Moist Heat (that is, heat in moist 

air). 
Boiling, Stewing. 

Cold water and slow heat, 
Soup making. 



Coagulation of albumin. 
Retention of juices. 
.Hardening of connective tissue. 

Coagulation of albumin. 
Softening of connective tissue. 
Retention of juices. 

Softening and dissolving of con- 
nective tissue. 

Extraction of juice and soluble 
proteins. 



Principles Involved in the Cooking of Meat. — While 
meats may be cooked in many ways, there are but three 
principles involved in the cooking of ail meats. 



ANIMAL FOODS 169 

1. Meat may be first subjected to heat strong enough 
to coagulate the albumin ; this forms a crust which will 
retain the juices in the meat. The meat then cooks in its 
own juices; and if this is continued long enough, it will 
soften the connective tissue also. This method is usually 
employed in broiling and roasting, and if the heat is too 
strong, the tendency is to dry the meat. 

2. Meat may be cooked in water at temperature 170°- 
185° F. for several hours, to soften the collagen and elastin 
found in the connective tissue and cell walls. This method 
is applied to tough meat and makes it tender. If it is 
cooked in a small quantity of water, it is called a pot roast ; 
if cut into small pieces, it is a stew ; if left in one piece, it 
is called boiled. Meat should never cook in boiling water 
longer than 10-15 minutes, which is suflficient to sear over 
the outside, because boiling dissolves the collagen and leaves 
the meat stringy, while simmering softens it. The fireless 
cooker is best for cooking the tougher cuts of meat, because 
the temperature is below 212° F., and that softens, but does 
not dissolve, the albuminoids, and does not coagulate the 
proteins so hard. 

3. For soups, beef tea, beef juice, and flavor, the object 
is to draw out the extractives. Meat should be placed in 
cold water and allowed to stand for some time and then 
gradually heated to about 160° F. ; then the juice is pressed 
out or the meat is soaked for several hours, depending on the 
use to which it is to be put. Cold water draws out the blood 
which contains haemoglobin, the soluble albumin and ex- 
tractives, — a very small percentage of the nutritive in- 
gredients in meat. Gradual heating dissolves some albu- 
minoids and fat. The longer this is continued^ the more 
gelatin and fat are obtained. 



lyo ANIMAL FOODS 

An important reason for cooking meat is to kill bacteria 
and other parasites found in meat. Some kinds of meat 
are raore liable to be diseased than others. Tuberculosis 
germs may attack the muscles of beef and other animals. 
Pork often has embedded in the muscles a parasite, trichina, 
which produces a disease often fatal to human beings. 
For this reason, pork should be thoroughly cooked, as 
cooking kills the parasite. 

Diseased meat should never be eaten on the assumption 
that cooking kills the bacteria and renders the meat harm- 
less. The bacteria, while alive, produce toxins and de- 
composition products that act as poisons to the system. 
This is called ptomaine poisoning, and also occurs in cheese, 
ice cream, and shellfish, and is not caused by bacteria them- 
selves, but by the products of bacterial action on the food ; 
and no cooking can destroy them. 

Effect of Heat on Meat. — Dry heat coagulates the al- 
bumin on the outside of the meat and forms a crust which 
tends to retain the juices and flavor. Moist heat softens 
and dissolves the connective tissue which forms the muscle 
tubes and holds the fibers together. Heat softens the fat 
so that it is freed from its albuminous envelope and becomes 
liquid ; meat loses much fat in cooking. Dry heat at a high 
temperature decomposes fat and liberates irritating sub- 
stances. By the shrinkage of the muscle fibers meat loses 
much water in cooking. Heat develops flavor. It causes 
a loss of nitrogenous extractives. Low heat draws out 
soluble albumin, extractives, and some albuminoids. 

Fish 

Fish are usually grouped in two classes ; fish proper, or 
vertebrates, and shellfish. The former includes all the 



ANIMAL FOODS 171 

common sea, lake, river, and brook fish, as salmon, trout, 
mackerel, whitefish, etc. ; the latter includes oysters, clams, 
lobsters, shrimps, etc. 

Fish are like meat in composition, structure, and nutri- 
tive value and may be substituted for it in the diet. They 
are protein foods. Fish proper contain no carbohydrate, 
and most of them contain very httle fat. Shellfish contain 
some carbohydrate. In oysters it is in the form of glycogen. 

Even when dressed for market, fish contain a high per- 
centage of refuse, from 30 to 50 per cent, and for that reason 
cannot be called cheap foods. They are never plentiful 
except in seaport towns or near the lakes and rivers where 
they abound, and they are extremely perishable and must be 
shipped in refrigerator cars, or frozen, or preserved in some 
other way. The commonest methods of preservation are 
salting, smoking, drying, and canning. Many fish are 
preserved in oil. For these reasons the price of fish is 
never very low, and their use cannot be urged except to add 
variety to the diet or to furnish delicacies. 

Fish contain from 35 to 60 per cent water, and from 8 to 
16 per cent protein. They contain less extractives than 
meat and more albuminoids. The amount of fat is not 
very great ; those containing over 2 per cent fat are classed 
as fat fish, those containing less than 2 per cent as lean fish. 
The fuel value of one pound of fish is about one third that 
of meat. 

Digestibility. — Fish contain but a small amount of 
extractives when compared with meat, and more albumin- 
oids. The connective tissue is tender and easily dissolved 
in cooking, and care must be taken that the flesh does not 
fall apart. For this reason, fish are seldom boiled, but 
are baked, broiled, or fried. 



172 



ANIMAL FOODS 



There is disagreement among authorities on the subject 
of the digestibihty of fish. Some contend that, because of 
the absence of extractives, it is not so easily digested as 
meat, because the extractives call out the digestive juices 
and aid digestion. Other authorities say that because the 
muscle fibers are tender and there is little connective tissue, 
it is more easily masticated and digested. The digesti- 
bility is probably the same as of meat. 

Because of the closeness of the muscle fibers, lobsters, 
clams, and shrimps are harder to digest than fish. The 
danger from ptomaine poisoning is greater in fish than in 
other foods because they decompose so quickly; this is 
especially true with shellfish, and, when possible, they should 
be shipped ahve. Many cases of typhoid fever have been 
traced for their cause to the consumption of raw oysters. 
Oysters live near the shore; and if rivers carrying contami- 
nated sewage empty their water into the bay where the 
oyster beds are located, typhoid germs may be found in 
the oysters. 



ANIMAL FOODS 



173 



Composition of Fresh Fish Dressed for Market 





Refuse 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Mineral 
Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Black bass . . . 


46.7 


41.9 


10.3 


•5 






.6 


Cod . . . 




29.9 


58.5 


10.6 


.2 




• 


.8 


Mackerel . . 




40.7 


43-7 


II.4 


3-5 




' 


•7 


Perch . . 




54-6 


34-4 


8.7 


1.8 






•5 


Pickerel . . 




35.9 


5I-I 


II.9 


.2 






•9 


Pike . . . 




30.5 


55-4 


13- 


•4 






•7 


Salmon . . 




23.8 


51.2 


14.6 


9-5 






•9 


Trout, brook 




37-9 


48.4 


II. 7 


1-3 






•7 


Trout, lake . 




35-2 


45- 


12.4 


6.6 






.8 


Whitefish . 




43.6 


39-4 


10.3 


3-6 






•9 


Preserved Fish: 














Cod, salt . . . 


24.9 


40.2 


16. 


•4 




18.5 
(salt) 


Herring, smoked 


44.4 


19.2 


20.5 


8.8 




7-4 


Canned Fish: 














Caviare . . . 




38.1 


30. 


19.7 


7.6 


4.6 


Salmon . . . 




63-5 


21.8 


12. 1 


. . 


2.6 


Sardines . . . 


5.0 


53-6 


23-7 


12. 1 




5-3 


Shellfish : 














Oysters . . . 




88.3 


6.0 


1-3 


3-3 


I.I 


Clams . . . 




80.8 


10.6 


I.I 


5-2 


2.3 


Lobsters . . . 


61.7 


30.7 


5-9 


.7 


.2 


.8 


Shrimps . . . 




70.8 


25.4 


I. 


.2 


2.6 



CHAPTER VIII 
EGGS 

Eggs and milk are sometimes referred to as the two 
perfect foods. They are perfect foods for the chick and 
the calf in that they contain all the elements needed for 
their development and growth, up to a certain period. 

While cow's milk contains the nutritive ingredients in 
the right proportion for the calf, its nutritive ratio being 
1 : 4, it differs widely from human milk, not in composi- 
tion, but in the relation of the tissue building to heat 
and energy-yielding ingredients, the ratio of human milk 
being i : lo. Eggs are a perfect food for the chick until it 
is hatched, when it begins to eat carbohydrate foods im- 
mediately. 

The egg is a unique food substance, in that it contains 
every element that goes into the bone, muscle, and blood 
of the chicken, and, as it is easily analyzed, it furnishes 
valuable information as to what substances are needed for 
these tissues and in what form the substances occur. From 
the time the embryo starts to develop until the chicken is 
hatched, no other food goes into the making of its tissues ; 
the heat is secured from outside sources. In the develop- 
ment of the calf this cannot be studied so easily. 

Composition. — Eggs contain about 74 per cent water, 
14.5 per cent protein, 10.5 per cent fat, and i per cent min- 
eral matter. 

174 



EGGS 175 

The nutritive ratio is i : 1.6, which shows that it ranks 
with meat as a concentrated tissue-building food. Eggs 
are even better than meat as tissue-building material, 
because they contain more kinds of proteins, and hence 
more mineral matter in organic form, than meats. Their 
great food value has been learned in the feeding of people 
suffering from tuberculosis, and their gain in health and 
weight. 

The white of egg contains albumins, globulins, and gly- 
coproteins, the great bulk of the white consisting of albumin 
in the form of ovalbumin. 

The yolk contains albumin and nucleoalbumin in the 
form of vitellin and lecithin, the two latter probably in 
combination. The mineral matter in egg consists of phos- 
phorus, calcium, iron, lime, sulphur, potassium, and mag- 
nesium, occurring in the organic compounds. The fat is 
found in the yolk and occurs in combination with the pro- 
teins in a sort of emulsion. 

When bacteria enter the egg through the porous shell, 
the albumin is decomposed and sulphureted hydrogen and 
phosphureted hydrogen are formed, causing the odor of 
stale eggs. 

From the variety of proteins and the abundance of min- 
eral salts it is seen that eggs are a valuable tissue-building 
food as well as a source of iron for the blood, calcium for 
bone, and phosphorus for cell growth. 

Structure. — In structure, eggs consist of a porous shell, 
lined with a thin membrane. Beneath the shell is the 
white, and in the center is the yolk, which has attached to it 
the embryo. The yolk, with its nucleoalbumin, fat, leci- 
thin, calcium, iron, and phosphorus, furnishes the first food 
for the developing chick and shows in what form and pro- 



176 EGGS 

portion these elements are needed for the young animal. 
It is said that by the term strictly fresh egg, is meant an 
egg not over twenty-four hours old. When the egg is laid, 
it is alkaline ; but microorganisms enter through the po- 
rous shell, and changes in the albumin take place very soon. 
For this reason some method should be used to exclude the 
air or to keep the eggs at so low a temperature that the 
microorganisms cannot develop. The latter method is 
the most successful. 

Storage. — In the home, eggs are packed in sawdust, 
ashes, sand, oats, or wrapped in paper. They are also 
coated with fat, oil, varnish, or vaseline, or immersed in 
water glass (silicate of soda) diluted with water. Care 
must be taken that the packing or coating is clean and has 
no odor, for eggs take both flavor and odor .very readily 
and are then unfit for use. It has been found, by repeated 
experiment, that vaseline coats the shell thoroughly and 
preserves the eggs, but that water glass is more satisfactory 
for keeping qualities and also for ease in applying. 

Cold Storage. — Few people realize that eggs will never 
be what is termed cheap again, because with the development 
of the cold storage industry and improved shipping facilities, 
they have changed from a perishable commodity, that must 
be marketed and consumed within a limited time, to a 
commodity that may be stored and kept until times of 
scarcity. This is true of many foods that were once cheap 
in season. Cold storage keeps the price up and makes it 
possible to procure eggs throughout the year. The eggs 
are packed in cases and placed in cold storage, and kept at 
a temperature just above freezing, 32-40° F. and not 
removed from cold storage until they are to be used. In 
this way they may be kept a year. 









Ham 




Loin 




Ribs 
Cuts of Pork 



EGGS 177 

Test for Freshness. — Some of the common tests for 
freshness are by no means always to be rehed upon, but, 
while they do not always tell the stage of deterioration, 
they are an index of freshness. The water in eggs evapo- 
rates, and air takes its place. Therefore a fresh egg is heavier 
than a stale one. Fresh eggs sink in water when immersed, 
old ones float. If an old egg is shaken, it rattles, showing 
that evaporation has taken place. The usual method 
employed in stores to test the freshness of eggs is by can- 
dling. A paper is rolled until the diameter is that of the 
egg. The egg is placed at one end and held toward the 
light. Examined through the other end of the paper, a 
fresh egg looks clear and unclouded, a stale egg shows dark 
spots or it is dark clouded throughout. 

Effect of Heat on Eggs. — The protein in egg is mostly 
pure albumin, and this is coagulated at about 160° F. 
into a fiocculent and tender mass, that may be readily 
broken up. If the temperature is increased to the boil- 
ing point (212° F.), the albumin becomes hard and 
tough and easily escapes mastication and is not so easily 
digested in the stomach. The yolk of the egg coagulates 
at a lower temperature than 160° F. Eggs may be coagu- 
lated throughout in a soft jellylike mass at a temperature 
between i6o°-i7o° F. Cooking above that temperature 
makes the albumin tough and leathery. This point should 
be noted in cooking all dishes where egg is used as a thick- 
ening agent, as in custards, puddings, etc. It should be 
noted also that when albumin is cooked at a high tempera- 
ture it shrinks and spoils the appearance of the dish, which 
it should have made smooth and velvety. When corn 
starch is also used in a pudding, the milk should be 
boiled first. After the mixture has thickened, the egg 

CONLEY, N. & D. — 12 



1 78 EGGS 

should be added and the food cooked at a low tem- 
perature. 

The best method of cooking eggs seems to be the fol- 
lowing : Place them in a tightly covered saucepan in 
boiling water — 212° F. ; then remove the saucepan from 
the fire and allow 8 minutes for soft-boiled eggs and 30 
minutes for hard-boiled. By this method the heat coag- 
ulates the albumin into a soft and tender mass and also 
thickens the yolk. When eggs are boiled, the albumin is 
coagulated so quickly into a tough coating that the heat 
does not penetrate to the yolk. The white is hard and 
leathery, while the yolk is soft. 

Digestibility. — As has been stated before, digestibility 
may mean ease of digestion or thoroughness of digestion. 
For the invalid or inactive person the factor ease of 
digestion counts for much; for the average working man 
completeness of digestion, or how much of a food the 
body assimilates and makes use of, is the all-important 
factor. 

Eggs cooked at a temperature below the boiling point 
are more easily and quickly digested in the stomach than 
those cooked at boiling point. This is because gastric 
juice can more readily act on the soft, flaky albumin than 
on the tough, leathery albumin. Experiments on the in- 
dividual and experiments in the laboratory bear out this 
statement. As to intestinal digestion and absorption there 
seems to be no great difference. The digestion coefficient 
seems to be the same in all cases, no matter how the eggs 
are cooked. It may be said that eggs have a high coeffi- 
cient of digestion. If absorption is delayed, decomposi- 
tion ensues and sulphureted hydrogen and ammonia are 
formed. 



EGGS 179 

Uses of Eggs. — Eggs have so many varied uses in the 
diet and in cooking, that it is well to enumerate some of 
them. 

Eggs, being rich in protein and fat, are a tissue-building 
food and a substitute for meat, when for any reason meat 
is not used. They serve as a food for the sick, because they 
furnish the material to replace the tissues in available 
form. When properly prepared, they are easily digested 
and may be served in many appetizing ways. 

The albumin in egg gives it many uses in cooking. Food 
is dipped in egg before frying because the albumin coagu- 
lates quickly and forms a crust, and this retains the juices 
and keeps the fat from reaching the food. When eggs are 
blended with milk or any other liquid, the whole mass 
thickens and becomes smooth, as in the making of custard. 
Eggs are used to hold the particles of flour together and 
form hollow shells, as in making of cream puffs and pop- 
overs. They can be used to clarify foods by entangling 
the soHd particles, as in making coffee. They are used 
extensively to make foods light and fluffy, as in cake and 
omelet. When heat is applied, the tiny air bubbles expand 
and the albumin coagulates, and this leaves the food Hght 
and porous. The heat must be gentle, because if the 
albumin sets before the bubbles expand the food will be 
tough. 

The use to which the egg is to be put governs the amount 
of beating that is needed. In custards, white and yolk 
should be merely blended, because the presence of air is 
undesirable. In a light cake the eggs should be beaten stiff 
and dry, to make the cake Hght by inclosing all the air 
possible. 



CHAPTER IX 
MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

Composition of Milk and its Products 





Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Mineral 

Matter 




Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Per Cent 


Whole milk . . . 


87.0 


S-3 


4.0 


5-0 


•7 


Skim milk . . . 


90.5 


3-4 


' -3 


5-1 


•7 


Buttermilk . . . 


91.0 


3-0 


•5 


4.8 


•7 


Condensed milk 


26.9 


8.8 


S.3 


54.1 


1.9 


Cream .... 


74.0 


2-5 


18.5 


4.5 


•5 



Chemical Composition. — Milk is an opaque white, or 
yellowish white, fluid of sweetish taste, and when freshly 
drawn has an alkaline reaction. It is an animal product 
containing fat, proteins, lactose, mineral matter, and water. 
The fat is held in suspension in the form of minute globules. 
When the milk stands for any length of time these globules 
rise to the surface as cream. The amount of fat in milk 
varies with age, feeding, breed of cow. It ranges from 
3.5 per cent to 5 or 6 per cent. Milk containing less than 
2.5 per cent fat is declared by state law as unfit for use. 

The chief fats in milk are stearin, palmitin, and olein. 
The proteins in milk (about 3.5 per cent) are in the form of 
lactalbumin, serum globuhn, and casein. The albumin 
and globulin are in solution, and the casein is in combination 

180 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS i8i 

with the phosphate of lime. It is precipitated by the pres- 
ence of acid, or by the addition of acid, as when lactic acid 
is formed in the souring of milk. The ferment rennin also 
causes the coagulation of the casein. The casein forms 
about six sevenths of the proteins in milk. 

The albumin and the globuhn are coagulated by heat, 
i58°-i67° F., casein is coagulated by acid or ferment. 
The carbohydrate of milk, about 5 per cent, is in solution 
in the form of lactose or milk sugar. Part of it is changed 
to lactic acid by the bacteria which cause the souring of 
milk. The mineral salts in milk are phosphates and chlo- 
rides, of lime, potash, and soda. The lime salts are valuable 
for bone material for the infant, and are essential for coagu- 
lation. 

Nutritive Ratio and Fuel Value. — The nutritive ratio 
of milk is I : 4, which shows that it ranks as a tissue-build- 
ing food. It is, however, 87 per cent water, and i pound of 
it will yield but 310 calories of heat. In order to Kve on 
milk alone the average man would have to consume about 
5 quarts of milk daily to supply the energy which he would 
need. Milk should not be considered as a beverage, how- 
ever, but should be reckoned as part of the nutritive in- 
gredients of any meal, for it furnishes a means of adding 
protein and fat to the diet. 

Effect of Heat on Milk. — Heat (212° F.), coagulates 
the lactalbumin and globulin in milk, and this entangles 
some of the casein and fat globules, and they rise to the sur- 
face, forming the skin of boiled milk. It also melts the fat 
so that the globules coalesce and form a cream of pecuHar 
appearance. 

Effect of Bacteria on Milk. — Probably no other food 
takes up odors and impurities so readily as does milk. For 



i82 MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

this reason great care must be taken to see that it does not 
become contaminated. Milk, as freshly drawn from the 
cow, is probably free from bacteria; but, in spite of careful 
handhng, hair, dust, and dirt from the cow's udder, or 
from the milker, or impurities from pail or cans may enter 
the milk and bring with them numbers of bacteria. These 
bacteria grow with astounding rapidity. Not all the bac- 
teria found in milk are harmful; some are even desirable 
under certain conditions, as in cheese and butter making ; 
a very few kinds may produce disease. But even though 
the bacteria may not be harmful from the standpoint of 
health, milk should be handled in a way to make it a clean 
and wholesome product and to prevent its souring. The 
ordinary bacteria found in milk thrive best at a tempera- 
ture of 75°-90° F. ; they are probably all killed at tem- 
peratures between 150° F. and 160° F. They are rendered 
inert if milk is held 40° F. The ideal handhng of milk, 
then, would consist of having clean cows, clean milkers, and 
clean stables, bottling it in sterilized bottles, and keeping 
it at a temperature of less than 50° F. until ready to use. 
Methods of rendering milk sterile will be considered later. 

Souring of Milk. — The bacteria which cause the souring 
of milk are called the lactic acid bacteria because they feed 
on the sugar in the milk and change it to lactic acid. The 
acid precipitates the casein or renders it insoluble, forming 
what is called the curd of sour milk. Many bacteria can- 
not grow in an acid medium, and hence it is safe to say 
that the activity of the lactic acid bacteria checks the growth 
of other forms, less desirable. 

When sour milk stands, or is shaken, the curd breaks up 
into small particles and a clear liquid called whey separates 
from it. These particles of curd are easily acted upon by 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 183 

the gastric juice, and so sour milk and buttermilk are more 
easily digested than fresh milk. 

Digestion of Milk. — The digestion of milk begins in 
the stomach, where the ferment rennin coagulates the 
casein in a solid clot. The clot differs from that formed in 
souring in that it is tougher and harder for the digestive 
juices to act upon, while the curd in sour milk is flaky. It 
is thought that rennin chemically changes the casein by 
splitting it into two proteins, while the lactic acid simply 
precipitates it. The pepsin in the gastric juice acts on the 
proteins, and digestion is completed in the small intestine, 
where the protein, fat, and sugar are all acted on by the 
pancreatic ferments. The coefficient of digestibility de- 
pends on several factors. 

With infants and young children, the digestion of milk is 
fairly complete, probably because it is the natural food for 
the young animal and contains the nutrients in the right 
proportion and form to supply the needs of the body at this 
time. Not only does it contain the right amount of protein, 
fat, and carbohydrate, but also the right amount of mineral 
matter needed for bone, muscle, and blood ; the only notice- 
able lack is in a proper supply of iron. The lack of iron is 
not important to the infant, because it has an excess of 
iron stored in its body at birth; but it should be considered 
when milk is given to older children, and foods containing 
iron should be given, because iron is needed for blood and 
muscle tissue. 

For the adult, milk contains too much water. It has too 
high a protein ratio, and has no indigestible fiber to stimulate 
peristalsis. It is constipating for this reason, If taken 
with other foods, or as an ingredient in foods, it has a high 
nutritive value. When milk is taken alone by the adult. 



i84 MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

only 90 per cent of it is digested; if taken with bread and 
other foods, nearly 99 per cent is assimilated. This is prob- 
ably due to the fact that taken alone- milk clots in a firm 
leathery clot which tends to resist digestion. If mixed with 
other foods, the clot is smaller and less firm, and juices can 
penetrate it more easily. For this reason milk is often di- 
luted with barley water or oatmeal water. Milk should 
never be taken in large mouthfuls, but should be slowly 
sipped. 

Adulteration of Milk. — Milk varies so greatly in the 
amount of sohds or nutritive ingredients which it contains 
(from 10 to 16 per cent) that there is a great chance for 
adulteration. The fat is so valuable for cream or butter 
making, that there is a great temptation to remove all or 
part of it, and sell what is left as whole milk. The diffi- 
culty or cost of handling it in such a way that the number 
of bacteria are reduced to minimum, and the milk kept 
sweet until it is ready for consumption, has led to the em- 
ployment of various means of checking the growth of or- 
ganisms, some legitimate, others, as the use of chemical 
preservatives, harmful, at least to children. Finally the 
importance of milk and its products as food, and the enor- 
mous quantity consumed (furnishing one sixth of the total 
food of an average family), have led to a desire to profit 
by placing an inferior article on the market. On the other 
hand, because milk furnishes almost the sole food for in- 
fants and because the percentage of infant mortahty de- 
pends in a great measure upon the pureness of the milk 
supply, many laws have been passed to secure a pure and 
wholesome product. 

The commonest method of adulteration is to add water, 
and thus reduce the soHds. The specific gravity of milk is 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 185 

1. 029-1. 034. If water is added, that will lower the specific 
gravity and the adulteration can be detected. Cream is 
lighter than milk, however, and if part of the cream is also 
removed, the specific gravity will remain the same. 

Professor Babcock, of the University of Wisconsin, dis- 
covered a way in which the amount of fat can be readily 
found, and, as the amount of fat is a most valuable index of 
the amount of other sohds also, it is a very reliable test and 
universally used by the farmer to test his herd, and at the 
creameries as a standard for purchasing milk. With the 
Babcock test, the sample of milk is put into a pipette and 
sulphuric acid is added to dissolve all the solids except the 
fat. The fat is then separated by centrifugal action, and, 
as it rises in the stem of the pipette, it may be easily and 
accurately measured. 

The chemical preservatives added to milk to kill or retard 
the growth of bacteria are boric acid, formalin, and salicyhc 
acid. They may not affect the digestion of the grown per- 
son, but they are injurious to infants, and what is worse, 
they conceal filth and filthy methods of handhng the milk. 

Keeping Milk Sweet and Wholesome. — The first con- 
sideration is to see that the milk comes from healthy cows 
that are kept in sanitary stables, and that nothing comes 
in contact with it that will pollute it in any way. It should 
be distributed in steriHzed bottles so that no dust or dirt 
may enter it before it reaches the consumer. The vessels 
in which the housewife keeps the milk should be clean and 
should be kept covered, so as to exclude air and odors. It 
should be kept at a temperature below 50° F., and should 
be used the same day it is purchased. Pure milk will not 
keep much longer than two days. Milk that keeps longer 
should be regarded with suspicion. 



i86 MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

The best method of securing a pure supply of milk is to 
see that it is produced under sanitary conditions and from 
healthy cows. When there is danger that the milk is not 
pure, two methods are employed to keep it sweet for chil- 
dren, or to render it safe in case of danger from pathogenic 
bacteria. Epidemics of scarlet fever, diphtheria, and ty- 
phoid have been traced to a polluted milk supply, and pre- 
cautions should be taken to avoid danger to infants and 
children. 

Pasteurization. — The first and probably the better 
method is called pasteurization. It consists of heating the 
milk to a temperature of from 155° to 167° F., for twenty 
minutes and then rapidly cooling it to 50° F. or less, and 
then botthng it. By this method no chemical changes 
take place in the constituents of the milk, and all bacteria, 
except the spore-producing kind, are killed. Undesirable 
bacteria grow more rapidly in pasteurized milk than in 
raw milk, because the lactic acid bacteria, which would 
destroy them or hold them in check, have been destroyed 
by heat. The objection to pasteurized milk is that dealers 
are not so careful in securing a pure product because they 
rely on pasteurization to destroy bacteria. 

Sterilization. — The second method, sterihzation, consists 
in boiling the milk for fifteen or twenty minutes, and by 
repeating the process if it is deemed necessary. This 
method practically destroys the bacteria, but changes the 
milk to boiled milk and is objectionable for that reason. 

Condensed Milk. — To secure a supply of milk where it 
is impossible to get fresh milk, milk is evaporated in vacuum 
pans to one third or one fourth its original bulk, and sealed in 
air-tight cans in which it will keep indefinitely. Sometimes 
cane sugar is added to increase the amount of solids and also 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS * 187 

to enhance its keeping qualities. When it is to be used, 
twice or three times its bulk of water is added, and it serves 
practically the same purposes as fresh milk. The unsweet- 
ened brand serves as a better food for infants than 
the sweetened varieties, because so much cane sugar is 
undesirable. 

Cream and Skim Milk. — When milk is allowed to stand 
undisturbed, the fat globules separate from the rest of the 
constituents and come to the surface in the form of cream, 
which may be removed by skimming. This separation of 
fat is now accomplished by the use of the separator. It 
is a machine which causes the milk to rotate rapidly. The 
milk, being heavier, is thrown outward and the cream is 
forced to the center. Separating is done as soon as the 
milk is drawn, while by the other method the milk is 
allowed to stand in open pans. 

Pasteurized cream and separated cream do not whip so 
readily as hand-skimmed cream, probably because some of 
the calcium salts are lost in the process. This may be over- 
come by the addition of viscogen, a solution of lime and 
sugar that seems to add viscosity to cream. Cream con- 
tains from 15 to 30 per cent fat. Most state laws require 
that it shall contain 18 per cent. It should contain 25 per 
cent for whipping purposes. 

Skim Milk. Composition and Nutritive Value. — Skim 
milk contains all the nutritive ingredients found in whole 
milk, except the fat, and in nearly the same proportion. 
Animal protein is the most expensive of all food nutrients 
and the most valuable. Skim milk contains 3.4 per cent 
protein, which makes it a cheap tissue-building food, if it 
can be purchased as skim milk. If the average housewife 
had any idea of the food value and uses of skim milk, it 



i88 MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

could be marketed, because, when the cream is separated 
from the milk, every dairyman has skim milk as a by-prod- 
uct. Better still, the whole milk could be purchased and 
the cream removed for use as cream, and the remainder 
used where whole milk was formerly used. This would 
materially decrease the cost of milk in the average family, 
for cream is an expensive food. 

Uses of Skim Milk. — Where milk enters into the com- 
position of any food in cooking, fat in some form is usually 
added also, and no account is taken of the fat already pres- 
ent in the milk, as in white sauce, cream soups, cakes, etc. 
These foods could all be prepared from skim milk because 
the loss of the cream is made up in the fat used. As will be 
seen from the study of dietaries, too much fat is invariably 
taken, and by the use of skim milk in cooking this amount 
could be reduced without loss in flavor and it would give 
a better-balanced food. 

Place of Milk in the Diet. — Milk contains the four classes 
of nutrients in nearly the right proportion to supply the 
needs of the body; but it lacks enough carbohydrate to 
make it a balanced food, and it needs bulk to stimulate 
peristalsis. With the addition of some carbohydrate food 
it forms a valuable food at a low cost. 

To show how the food requirements for lunch or supper 
may be suppHed by milk and potato, the nutritive value of 
potato soup is given below. The quantity here given will 
furnish one fourth of all food required for an average person 
for one day. Celery, or asparagus, or any cream soup, 
prepared from roots, tubers, or green vegetables, may be 
substituted for potato soup, but rice should be added as a 
thickening agent and to bring up the carbohydrate con- 
tent. 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 



189 



Nutritive Value of Potato Soup 



Food 


Weight 


Calories 
Protein 


Calories Fat 


Calories 
Carbohydrate 


Potato . . 

Milk . . . 
Butter . . 
Flour . . . 
Salt and on- 
ion juice . 
Bread . . 


^Ib. 
I lb. 

5 oz. 
I oz. 


20 
60 

I 
3 

10 


2 
162 
107 

I 

3 


164 
91 

21 

*6o 


Total . 




94 


275 


33^ 



Protein, 94 calories; fat and carbohydrates, 611 calories. 



COMPOSITION OF PRODUCTS OF MILK 



Whole milk : 


Per Cent 


Water . 


87. 


Protein . 


3-3 


Fat . . 


4- 


C. H. . . 


5. 


M. M. . 


.7 



(Butter making.) 









Butter : 


Per Cent 








Water . 


. II. 








Protein . 


I. 


Cream : 


Per Cent 


Fat . . 


. 15. 


Water 


• 74 




C. H. . . 




Protein . 


2 


5 


M. M. . 


3. 


Fat . . 
C. H. . 


. 18 


5' 


Buttermilk : 




• 4 


b 


Water . 


91. 


M. M. . 




5 


Protein . 
Fat . . 
C. H. . 
M. M. . . 

' Casein curd : 
Water . 
Protein . 
Fat . . 
C. H. . 
M. M. . 


3- 

•5 
4.8 

•7 

72. 
20.9 
I. 

4.3 
1.8 


Skim Milk : 




• 


Whey: 




Water . 


. 90 




Water . 


93. 


Protein . 


• 3 


4 


Protein . 


I. 


Fat . . 




3 


Fat . . 


•3 


C. H. . 


. 5 


I 


C. H. . 


. 5. 


M. M. . 




•7 


[ M. M. . 


.7 



190 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 



COMPOSITION OF PRODUCTS OF MILK — Continued 



Whole Milk : 

(Cheese making.) 



Cheese : 
Water 
Protein 
Fat . 
C. H. 
M. M. 

Whey: 
Water 
Protein 
Fat . 
C. H. 
M. M. 



33-5 
26. 

35-5 
i-S 
3.5 



93- 
I. 



.7 



Products of Milk 

Butter Making. — Cream can be separated from the skim 
milk. It is sold for table use or is churned into butter. In 
butter making the cream separates into butter fat and butter- 
milk. 

Skim milk can be separated into curd and whey. 

Cheese Making. — Generally, in cheese making the whole 
milk is used. It is coagulated by rennet and after it is firm 
enough the curd is cut and the whey is drawn off. The 
fat and casein are in the cheese curd. 

Butter is the most valuable of all forms of fat because it 
is the most easily digested of all fats. This is probably 
due to the fact that it contains a high per cent of olein, the 
form in which fat occurs in the human body. 

Butter contains 11 per cent water, i per cent protein, 
85 per cent of fat, and 3 per cent mineral matter. Its fuel 
value is 3400 calories. The amount of water and fat vary 
in different samples of butter. Some butter may contain as 
high as 40 per cent of water. United States food laws, how- 
ever, make it unlawful to sell butter containing less than 82.5 
per cent butter fat and not more than 16 per cent water. 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 



191 



The 3 per cent mineral matter, which is added to help pre- 
serve the butter from decomposition and to flavor it, is 
common salt. 

Some people like butter without salt. In this case the 
butter must be eaten soon after it is made, as it spoils quickly. 
Butter owes its pecuHar flavor to the fatty acids which it 
contains, principally butyric and caproic. 

Nutritive Value. — Because of lack of protein, butter is 
not a tissue-building food. Because of the high percent- 
age of fat, its fuel value being 3400 calories per pound, it 
is a valuable source of energy, easily available, easily di- 
gested, and the amount ordinarily consumed by the average 
person would supply all the fat needed in the diet. At 
present prices, however, it is an expensive food, and other 
fats must be relied upon as sources of energy. 

Butter Making. — When cream is removed from the milk, 
the fat is in minute globules. The cream is churned or 
beaten to cause the globules to coalesce. The cream is 
usually allowed to stand until it ripens or until enough 
lactic acid bacteria have developed to give it the desired 
flavor. The churn is scalded to get rid of undesirable bac- 
teria, and cooled. The proper temperature of cream for 
churning is between 52° and 62° F. If the cream is cool, less 
fat is lost in churning and the butter will have a better 
texture and there is less labor in making. As soon as the 
butter forms it should be removed from the buttermilk 
and washed with water at a temperature 45°-5o° F. The 
washing removes the buttermilk and also hardens the fat. 
If the buttermilk remains in the butter, the casein in it de- 
composes and the butter spoils. 

After one or more washings, salt is added to preserve and 
flavor the butter. It must be thoroughly worked in so that 



192 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 



the butter will not be streaked. Butter is usually colored 
with anatto or some other harmless coloring, because a 
colored butter markets better than an uncolored. 

Butter is often made from fresh cream, or sweet cream. 
It is more delicately flavored than that made from ripened 
cream and there is a growing demand for it. Probably no 
other article of food affects the character of a meal as does 
the quality of butter, and probably no other article of food 
has been so ignorantly and carelessly made as butter, at a 
great loss to producers and distributors. Rancid butter 
should never be used in cooking. It is best to use pure lard 
or a mixture, or oleomargarine. Modern dairies have 
supplanted the home dairies, and the result is a cleaner 
product, produced under state supervision. 

Renovated Butter. — Poor or rancid butter is sometimes 
subjected to a process called renovating. The butter is 
melted, and this separates the fat from the curd and brine. 
The fat is then removed and aerated to get rid of odors, 
mixed with fresh milk again to get the milk flavor, drained, 
salted, worked, and repacked. 

Buttermilk is the part of cream left in the churn after 
the butter is removed. It has the same composition as 
skim milk and the same nutritive value, being a cheap tissue- 
building food. Because the lactic acid bacteria are pres- 
ent, the casein is precipitated in fine curd and so it is easily 
digested. It is also thought that the presence of the lactic 
acid bacteria in the stomach retards the growth of other 
undesirable bacteria and to this are due some of the benefits 
derived from the use of buttermilk. It is much used in 
diseases of stomach, etc., where milk in an easily digested 
form is desired. It has the same nutritive ratio as skim 
milk and can be used in place of it in cooking. 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 



193 



Oleomargarine. — Oleomargarine is a manufactured prod- 
uct much like butter in physical properties and chemical 
composition. It is considered more wholesome than poor 
butter. It is made from beef suet, leaf lard, and milk. The 
beef suet is treated so as to separate the olein from the pal- 
matin and stearin, and the olein, a granular yellow substance, 
forms the basis for the oleomargarine. Leaf lard is treated 
in the same way and yields a fat called neutral. The 
olein and neutral are melted, and mixed with milk to give 
a butter flavor. It is then salted, and sold as oleomargarine. 
If butter is added in place of milk to give the butter flavor, 
the compound is called butterine. 

Cheese 
Composition of Cheese 



Kinds of Cheese 


Water 


Protein 


Fat 


Carbohy- 
drate 


Mineral 
Matter 


Cheese, cheddar . 
Cheese, full cream 
Roquefort . . . 

Swiss 

Neufchatel . . . 
Cottage .... 


Per Cent 

27.4 
34-2 
39-3 
31-4 
50.0 
72.0 


Per Cent 

27.7 

25-9 
22.6 
27.6 
18.7 
20.9 


Per Cent 
36.8 
33-7 
29-5 
34-9 
27.4 
1.0 


Per Cent 

4.1 

2.4 

1.8 
1-3 
1-5 
4.3 


Per Cent 
4.0 
3-8 
6.8 
4.8 
2.4 
1.8 



Composition and Nutritive Value. — From its composi- 
tion, cheese ranks first as a tissue-building food, for no 
other food has so high a nutritive value. Beef from 
the round contains 18 per cent protein, mutton 13 
per cent, chicken 15 per cent, dried beans 22 per cent, 
bread 10 per cent, mackerel 17 per cent, while cheese con- 
tains 22 per cent. The protein in cheese is ready for 

CONLEY, N, & D. — 13 



194 MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

consumption, while in many foods, as beans and peas, 
the figures show the amount of protein in the food in a dry 
state, and during cooking much water is absorbed so the 
proportion of protein is decreased. In vegetable foods the 
protein is surrounded by cellulose, and some of it escapes 
digestion and cannot be counted as available nutrition. 
No other food contains so much protein in so compact 
form and is so cheap a tissue-building food as is cheese. If 
more cheese were used as the principal protein in a meal, 
it would lessen the consumption of meat and cheapen the 
cost of the meal. The reason why, in this country at least, 
cheese has not found its true place is because we have not 
had to consider seriously the cost of meat as yet, and because 
we have not learned how to serve cheese in a form that 
makes it easily digested. 

Digestibility. — The value of any food depends not only 
on its nutritive ratio and cost, but also on its digestibihty. 
It is on this point that cheese compares unfavorably with 
other protein foods. Cheese is a concentrated food. It 
has but 33 per cent water. It contains no refuse, and has 
no starch or cellulose to furnish bulk and stimulate the 
walls of the stomach and intestines, so that the digestive 
fluids will be secreted, or to hasten the passage of foods along 
the intestines. Fats and carbohydrates in nearly equal 
proportion are so thoroughly mixed that the gastric juice 
cannot act on the protein. A ferment in the gastric juice 
may act on emulsified fat, but it cannot act on the fat in 
cheese. It is difficult for the digestive juices to act on any 
food so concentrated; but, in addition to this, it is a soft 
food and is apt to escape mastication and be swallowed in 
lumps. Not alone that, but in some cheese the protein has 
not been broken down, or made more soluble, and it is hard 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 195 

to digest. The main work of the digestion of cheese is done 
in the small intestine; and if it reaches the intestine without 
creating any disturbances in the stomach, it will be thor- 
oughly digested. Experiments made by Snyder show that 
cheese is completely digested and has a high coefficient of 
digestibihty, 93.36 per cent protein, and 94.50 per cent fat. 
It is said that bicarbonate of soda added to cheese increases 
the ease of digestibihty because the alkaU neutralizes the fatty 
acid and makes the casein soluble. It should be said, then, 
that while cheese is hard to digest in the stomach, it is not 
indigestible, but is fairly well digested by the average person. 

The difficulty, then, is more apt to be due to the consumer 
than to any fault in the food. It becomes a question of 
how to prepare the cheapest and most concentrated form of 
protein food so that it will leave the stomach before fer- 
mentation sets in. 

Well-ripened cheese, cheese in which the proteins have 
been partially broken down by bacterial action, is the best 
kind. It should be thoroughly masticated, or, better still, 
grated and mixed with a carbohydrate food to give it bulk. 
It should not be eaten in too great quantities, because it 
is a concentrated food, and it would overtax the digestive 
powers of the individual. Europeans who consume great 
quantities of cheese as their main source of protein food, 
because meat is too expensive, have learned how to prepare 
it. With us it is too often considered a condiment and is 
eaten at the end of a meal which has already contained too 
much protein and fat. Toasted cheese is hard to digest 
because some of the water evaporates, the fat melts, and the 
casein becomes hard. 

Place of Cheese in the Diet. — Cheese furnishes but 
.3 per cent of the total American food materials. This 



196 MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

figure shows that it is not used so much as it should be. 
It should often serve as the protein portion of a meal in 
place of meat. It may be added to omelet, macaroni, any 
creamed vegetable, or soup or cereal. It may often be 
served as cheese fondu or soufHe or rarebit, when mixed 
with milk, bread crumbs, and eggs. Care must be taken to 
cook the cheese dishes at a low temperature because heat 
toughens the casein and melts and sometimes decomposes 
the fat. 

Classification of Cheese. — No one classification would 
include all kinds of cheese. They may be classified as hard 
and soft, depending on the amount of water in them ; as 
cream, full cream, or skimmed milk cheese, depending on 
whether some fat has been removed or added to the milk ; 
they may be named because of the peculiar fermentation 
that takes place during ripening and brings about the dis- 
tinctive flavor ; or they might be classified under the name 
of the country where they are produced, as Edam in Hol- 
land, Roquefort in France, and Parmesan in Italy. What- 
ever the difference may be, the process of cheese making is 
practically the same in every case, and includes the addition 
of rennet and coagulation, cutting the curd, removal of 
water, and ripening by bacterial action. 

The cheese most extensively used, most widely known, the 
cheapest and best for all purposes, is the Cheddar. There 
are two varieties made in this country, American Cheddar 
for export trade, and American for home consumption. 

They are practically the same except that the cheese 
for home consumption is softer, milder, does not keep so well, 
contains more water, and has not so good flavor because it 
is not so well cured. It is to be deplored that the American 
consumer does not appreciate and demand the better cheese. 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 197 

Manufacture. — Cheddar cheese is made from whole fresh 
milk which is allowed to ripen slightly, and then coagulated 
by the addition of rennet. Rennet acts best at a tem- 
perature of 86°-90° F., and must be thoroughly mixed 
throughout the milk so as to form an even coagulum. It 
is stirred gently at first so that the fat will not rise to the 
surface but will be mixed thoroughly with the casein. After 
it begins to coagulate, it is allowed to stand until the curd is 
firm enough to cut. 

Formerly the curd was broken into pieces with the hand 
or with a sort of rake, but now it is cut with a cutter, and 
then slowly heated to 98°-ioo° F., to separate the curd 
from the whey. Part of the whey is then drawn off, and 
part is left in until a certain amount of lactic acid is devel- 
oped, and then the rest is drawn off. The next process, 
called cheddaring or matting, consists of cutting the curd 
into blocks and piling them so as to expel any traces of 
the whey. It is then ground into pieces small enough for 
salt to penetrate, salted, and put into the press ready to 
shape. The pressing expels water and unites the particles 
of curd into a solid mass. 

It is then ready for curing, which is the most important 
process in cheese making, because it makes or mars the 
cheese. Curing or ripening of cheese is brought about by 
the action of certain bacteria which decompose the insol- 
uble casein into soluble proteins and break them down into 
amido compounds, peptones, and albumoses. The casein 
in fresh cheese is in an insoluble condition and very difficult 
to digest ; the bacteria convert it into a more soluble form. 
The differences in odor and flavor of cheese are due to the 
peculiar kind of bacteria introduced during ripening. Cheese 
should ripen at a low temperature at least from 2 to 4 



igS MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 

months, before it is fit for consumption. The fresh India 
rubber variety so common in our markets is not well cured 
and is hard to digest. Cheese ripened at too high a tem- 
perature or containing undesirable bacteria has a strong 
flavor. Good cheese should crumble, have a sharp biting 
taste, and have uniform holes. 

Cheese curd should contain practically all the nutrition 
in milk except sugar and mineral matter. It contains all 
the protein and practically all of the fat, a small quantity 
of carbohydrate and mineral matter, and is one third water. 
Whey contains the sugar and mineral matter. From this 
it will be seen that cheese contains most of the valuable 
constituents of milk in concentrated form. 



Kinds of Cheese 

Hard Cheese. — Most of the forms of cheese are either 
Cheddar or American in slightly different form. The small 
cheeses are called picnic or Young America and are mild in 
flavor. Pineapple cheese is an American Cheddar pressed 
firm and solid in the shape of a pineapple. Sage cheese 
is American Cheddar with sage incorporated into the cheese. 
Cheese sold in glass jars is Cheddar reduced to a soft pulp 
with fat and flavor added. Limburger depends for its 
odor and flavor on the form of bacteria introduced during 
ripening, and this ripening is allowed to continue until the 
whole mass is soft. Limburger is made from whole and 
skim milk and is ripe when it is about one third soft. It 
has a reddish yellow rind. Swiss cheese owes its pe- 
culiar texture and flavor to a special kind of fermentation, 
the gas generated producing the characteristic holes. Edam 
is round like a cannon ball and the rind is stained red. It 



MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 199 

is made from partly skimmed milk and as firm and hard as 
possible. It is not ripe until 6 to 8 months old. It is made 
in Holland. Parmesan, a very hard Italian cheese, is 
made from skim milk. It is usually sold grated. It is so 
hard that it will keep indefinitely in any climate. Stilton 
is an English cheese which is allowed to ripen until blue mold 
grows from the interior throughout the cheese. 

Soft Cheese. — Neufchatel is a soft cheese made from 
uncured curd. It is smooth, mildly acid, and will not keep 
long. It is packed in little cylindrical pieces covered with 
tin foil. Roquefort is a soft cheese formerly made from 
goat's milk. The bacteria which bring about the peculiar 
fermentation are cultivated on bread crumbs, and these 
crumbs are mixed with the curd. The curing is done in 
hmestone caves of uniform temperature, to develop the 
right fermentation. It is soft and permeated with mold. 
Camembert is a soft cheese, and when ripe is coated with 
reddish brown mold, and is of a soft, pasty consistency with 
a characteristic odor and flavor. Cottage cheese is soft home- 
made cheese. It is made from sour skim milk. The milk 
is heated to about 100° F., and allowed to stand until the curd 
and whey separate. The curd is salted, and cream is often 
added to give the cheese flavor and to soften it. 

There are hundreds of varieties of cheese which the con- 
noisseur is famiHar with. Those given above are the best- 
known varieties, and serve to show that they differ mainly 
in the amount of water, and in the peculiar fermentation 
which develops the characteristic flavor and odor. Any 
fermentation which makes the proteins more soluble im- 
proves the character of the cheese. They differ also in the 
amount of fat, which depends on whether they are made 
from whole or skim milk. 



REFERENCES 

Atwater. Chemical Composition of American Food Materials. 

Bulletin No. 28, office of Exp. Sta. U.S. Dept. of Agr. 
Atwater. Principles of Nutrition and Nutritive Value of Foods. 

Farmers' Bulletin No. 142. 
Chittenden. Nutrition of Man. 
Chittenden. Physiological Economy in Nutrition. 
Hammersten. Textbook of Physiological Chemistry. 
Howell. Textbook of Physiology. 
Hutchison. Food and Dietetics. 
Knight. Food and Its Functions. 
LusK. Elements of Nutrition. 
Leffman and Beam. Food Analysis. 
Perkin and Kipping. Organic Chemistry. 
Sherman. Chemistry of Food and Nutrition. 
Symon. Physiological Chemistry. 
Wing. Milk and its Products. 

FARMER'S BULLETINS 

Use of Milk as a Food, Bacteria in Milk. 

Fish as a Food. 

Bread and Bread Making. 

Beans, Peas, and Other Legumes as Food. 

Eggs and their Uses as Food. 

Poultry as Food. 

Cereal Breakfast Foods. 

Use of Fruit as Food. 

Potatoes and Other Root Crops as Food. 

The Food Value of Corn and Corn Products. 

Nuts and their Uses as Food. 

Food Customs and Diet in American Homes. 

Wheat Flour and Bread. 

200 



INDEX 



Absorption, 34, 40. 

Albumin, 13, 18, 19, 21, 160, 161, 168, 
170, 175, 177, 182. 

composition of, 13. 

forms of, 40. 

occurrence in body, 13. 
Albuminoids, 18, 21, 22, 35. 

effect of heat on, 22. 

forms of, 22. 

occurrence, 22. 
Aleurone cells, 112. 
Alkalinity of blood, 27, 34, 41, [42, 62, 

146, 147. 
American cheese, 198. 
Amylopsin, 25, 36, 39. 
Amy loses, 25. 
Anemia, 14. 
Animal foods, 156. 

classification, 156. 

composition of, 156. 

uses in diet, 156. 

(See Meats and Fish.) 
Asparagin, 137. 
Atwater, energy requirements, 47. 

method of calculating energy require- 
ments, 48, 49. 

nutritive ratio, 51. 

protein requirements, 47. 

standard used, 69. 

Balanced meals, 58. 

dangers of poorly, 60. 

practical value of, 63-65. 

reasons for, 58. 
Barley, 121, 126. 
Beans, 128, 129. 

composition of, 131. 

digestibility of, 131. 

kidney, 129. 

lima, 129. 

navy, 129. 



Beans, string, 129, 131. 

structure of, 131. 
Beef, 163-166, 167. 

cuts of, 163. 

myosin in, 165. 

table of composition of cuts, 165. 

(See Meats.) 
Beverages, 152. 
Bile, 39. 

Bomb calorimeter, 46. 
Bran in wheat, 112, 113, 114. 
Breakfast, menus, 79, 82, 85, 87, 90, 93, 
96. 

planning a, 67. 

time for preparation, 77, 79, 82. 
Breakfast foods, 121, 122. 

classes of, 123. 
Buckwheat, 121, 125, 126. 
Butter, 190. 

calories per povmd, 99. 

making, 191. 

milk, 192. 

nutritive value of, 191. 

renovated, 192. 
Butterine, 193. 

Calcium, 33, 41. 

foods containing, 56. 

in flour, grains, and bread, 117. 

per cent in body, 12. 
Calorie, 16, 46. 

100 portion, 67. 
Calories, how calculated in any food, 70. 

per pound in foods as prepared, loi- 
102. 

per pound in foods as purchased, 99- 
100. 

per recipe, 100. 
Calorimeter respiration, 48, 49. 
Camembert cheese, 199. 
Carbohydrates, 13, 23, 



201 



202 



INDEX 



Carbohydrates, classification of, 23, 24, 
25. 
digestion of, 38, 40. 
energy available in, 47. 
fuel value of, 46, 47. 
in animal foods, 105. 
in cereals, 109, no, in, 114-117, 121, 

126, 127. 
in cheese, 193. 
in chocolate and cocoa, 154. 
in foods as prepared, 100-102. 
in foods as purchased, 99-100. 
in fruits, 147, 149. 
in green vegetables, 145. 
in legumes, 129, 132. 
in milk, 188, 189. 
in roots and tubers, 134, 136, 137, 142, 

143- 

in vegetable foods, 106, 107. 

needed in diet, 61. 

nutritive ratio, 51. 

occurrence in foods, 13. 

proportion to fat, 54. 

uses in body, 23, 24. 
Carbon, per cent in body, 12. 
Carbon dioxide, 17, 22, 41, 42, 161. 
Casein, 18, 21, 180, 181, 183, 195. 
Cells, 9, 10, II. 

wheat, no. 
Cellulose, 10, 23, 115, 116. 

effect of heat on, 26. 

in breakfast foods, 123. 

in cereals, 1 24. 

in corn, 119. 

in fruits, 147, 149. 

in green vegetables, 45, 146, 147, 149. 

in legumes, 130, 131, 132. 

in potatoes, 136, 137, 139. 

in wheat, 109, 112, 115, 116, 117. 

uses in the body, 26. 
Cereal products, 122. 
Cerealin, 112, 113. 
Cereals, 121. 

breakfast foods, 122. 

calories per pound, loi. 

composition of, 109. 

cooking of, 124. 

food value of, 71. 

importance of, in diet, 108. 

manufactured products, 122. 

mineral matter in, 122. 

place in diet, 124. 



Cereals, relative importance of, 160. 
Cheddar cheese, 198. 
Cheese, 193. 

calories per pound, 99, 

Cheddar, 198. 

classification of, 196. 

composition, 193. 

digestibiUty, 194. 

food value, 72. 

hard, 198. 

kinds of, 198. 

manufacture of, 197. 

nutritive value, 193. 

table of composition, 193. 
Chemical action, 36. 
Chemical change, 14. 

example of, 15. 
Chittenden, energy reqmrements, 48. 

protein requirements, 45. 
Chlorides, 33, 62. 
Chlorine, 41. 

per cent in body, 12. 
Chocolate, 153. 

composition of, 154. 

food valiie of, 154. 

place in diet, 155. 
Chocolate creams, 155. 
Chromoprotein, 19, 35, 41. 
Coagulation temperatures, 18. 

of protein, 21. 
Cocoa, 153. 

composition of, 154. 

food value of, 155. 
Coefficient of digestibility, 54, 155. 
Coffee, 153. 
Collagen, 18, 22, 160. 
Compounds, defined, 12. 

examples of, 12. 

occurrence in body, 13. 

occurrence in foods, 13. 
Condiments, 155. 
Connective tissue, in cells, 10, 23. 

in meat, 160, 161, 169, 172. 
Constipation, 65, 115. 
Corn, 118, 127. 

composition of, 118, 119. 

green, 119. 

popcorn, 119, 127. 

products of, 119. 

proteins in, 119. 

structure of, 118, 119. 
Corn flour, 120. 



INDEX 



203 



Corn meal, 120. 
Corn sirup, 120. 
Corn starch, 120. 
Cottage cheese, 199. 

Decomposition products, of cell metabo- 
lism, 41. 

of protein, 22, 60. 
Dextrin, 25, 26. 
Diastase, in. 
Diet, variety in, 58. 
Dietary studies, value of, 103. 
Digestion, 36—41. 

in intestines, 39. 

in mouth, 37. 

in stomach, 38. 
Dinner, menus, 77, 80, 83, 86, 88, 91, 94, 

97- 
planning of, 68. 
Domestic science, 8. 
Dried vegetables, 139. 

Edam cheese, 198. 
Eggs, 174. 

calories per pound, 99. 

composition of, 174. 

cooking of, 178. 

digestibility of, 178. 

effect of heat on, 177. 

mineral matter in, 175. 

nutritive ratio of, 175. 

proteins in, 175. 

storage of, 176. 

structure of, 175. 

tests for freshness, 177. 

uses of, 179. 
Elastin, 18, 22. 
Elements, 12. 

base-forming, 34, 42. 

defined, 12. 

examples of, 12. 

found in body, 13. 

occurrence in foods, 13. 
Embryo in wheat, in. 
Endosperm, of wheat, in, 112, 113, 114, 

of com, 119. 
End products, nitrogenous, 17, 42. 
Energy, 15. 

amount in foods, 46. 

amount needed, 47. 

potential, 46. 

uses in body, 8. 



Energy requirements calculated, 48, 49, 

50. 
Extractives, 18, 21, 23. 

in meat, 160, 161. 

uses in body, 23. 

Factors used in calculating diet, 50. 
Fat, composition of, 13, 30. 

occurrence in body, 13. 
Fats, 23, 156, 162, 164, 166, 170, 174, 175, 
180, 181, 185. 

absorption of, 40. 

calories per pound, 100. 

commonest, 31. 

decomposition products of, 31. 

digestion of, 40. 

fuel value of, 46, 47, 72. 

in cells, n. 

in vegetable cells, n. 

occurrence in body, 30. 

occurrence in foods, 30. 

oxidation of, 40. 
Ferments, coagulation, 37. 

concerned with digestion, 36. 

defined, 36. 
Fibrin, 18, 21. 
Fibrinogen, 21. 
Fish, 170. 

calories per pound, 99. 

classification, 170. 

composition of, 171. 

digestibility of, 171. 

food value, 72. 

nutritive value, 171. 

table of composition, 173. 
Flour, 113. 

bread-making properties of, 113. 

composition of, 116. 

Graham, 114, 126. 

milling of, 113, 114. 

mineral matter in, 117. 

variations of, 114. 
Flours, comparison of different, 116, 117. 

nutrients digested in various, 117. 
Fluorine, per cent in body, 12. 
Foods, animal, 105, 106, 156. 

as prepared for cooking, 102. 

as purchased, 99, icx). 

classified, 9, 106. 

complete, defined, n. 

cost of, 58. 

defined, 8. 



204 



INDEX 



Foods, digestibility of, 52, 53, 54. 

equivalent nutritive values, 71, 72. 

excessive consumption of starchy, 63. 

fuel value of, 45. 

nitrogenous, 18. 

non-nitrogenous, 23. 

nutritive value of, 43, 52. 

relative importance of, 104. 

requirements, 43, 49, 50. 

study, object of, 164. 

undigested, 40. 

uses of, II. 

vegetable, 104, 106, 107. 
Fruit, 147. 

calories per pound, 102. 

composition of, 147. 

food value of, 71, 148. 

place in diet, 148. 

preservation of, 148. 

table of composition, 150. 
Fruits, dried, food value, 72. 

table of composition, 150. 
Fuel value of food, 45, 46, 47, 

Gastric juice, 36, 38, 39. 
Germ, wheat, 109, iii, 114. 
Gliadin, 109, 113. 
Glucose, absorption of, 40. 

commercial, 29. 

oxidation of, 40. 

prepared, 120. 
Glucoses, 25. 

occurrence, 29. 
Glutelin, 20. 

Gluten in wheat, 18, 21, 109, 113. 
Glutenin, 109, 113. 
Glycogen, 27. 
Glycoprotein, 34. 
Green vegetables, 145. 

calories per pound, 102. 

composition of, 145, 146. 

nutritive value of, 145. 

place in diet, 146. 

table of composition, 145. 

uses of, 146. 

Heat, 16. 

amount given off in oxidation, 46. 
bodily, 45, 46. 
foods yield, 46. 
(See Fuel.) 



Hominy, 120, 122, 127. 
Hydrochloric acid, 33, 38, 39. 
Hydrogen, per cent in body, 12. 

Intestinal digestion, 39, 40. 
Intestinal juice, 36, 39. 
Invertin, 25, 36, 39. 
Iron, 19, 24, 33, 41, 175, 183 

anemia due to lack of, 14, 

foods containing, 56, 57. 

in flour, grain, etc., 117. 

in green vegetables, 146. 

lentils contain, 130. 

occurrence in body, 13. 

per cent in body, 12. 

when assimilated, 14. 

Kreatin, 18, 23. 
Kreatinin, 18, 29. 

Lactose, 28. 

fermentation of, 29. 

in milk, 183. 
Langworthy, energy requirements, 48. 

protein requirements, 45. 
Lecithin, 18, 23, 175. 

occurrence, 23. 
Lecithoprotein, 19, 23, 35, 41. 
Legumes, 128. 

calories per pound, loi. 

coefficient of digestibility, 132 

composition of, 129. 

digestibihty, 131, 132, 133. 

dried, 129. 

food value, 71. 

fresh, 129. 

nutritive value of, 129, 130. 

structure of, 132. 
Legumin, 18, 21. 

Lentil soup, nutritive value of, 133, 
Lentils, 129. 
Limburger cheese, 198. 
Lime, 12, 24. 

composition of, 13. 

in milk, 181. 

lack of, how shown, 14. 

occurrence in body, 13. 
Lunch, planning of, 69. 

Macaroni, 121. 
preparation of, 121. 



INDEX 



205 



Magnesium, 24, 33, 34, 41, 175. 

per cent in body, 12. 
Maltose, 25, 29. 
Marketing, 59. 
Meals, 66. 

measurements for planning, 69. 

planning of, 66, 67-71. 

serving of, 66. 

standard used for planning, 69. 

(See Balanced Meals.) 
Meats, 156. 

albuminoids in, 168. 

animal foods classified, 156. 

composition of, 167. 

connective tissue in, 159, 160. 

digestibility of, 160. 

diseased, 170. 

eSect of heat on, 168, 169, 170. 

excessive consumption of, 162. 

extractives in, 168. 

fat in, 158. 

food value of, 72, 161, 163. 

losses in cooking, 160. 

nitrogenous foods in, 168. 

nutritive ratio of, 162. 

parasites in, 170. 

place in diet, 1 61-163. 

principles involved in cooking, 168, 169. 

refuse in, 158. 

similarity and difference, 157. 

structure of, 159. 

table of composition, 157. 

(See Beef.) 
Menus, 76-98. 

breakfast, planning a, 76. 

dinner, planning a, 77. 

supper, planning a, 78. 
Metabolism, 17, 41, 162. 
Milk, 180. 

adulteration of, 184. 

calories per pound, 99. 

care of, 185. 

composition of, 180. 

condensed, 186. 

digestion of, 183. 

effect of bacteria on, 181, 182. 

effect of heat on, 181. 

fats in, 180. 

fuel value of, 181. 

in bread making, 117. 

mineral matter in, 181. 

nutritive ratio of, 181. 



Milk, pasteurization of, 186. 

proteins in, 180. 

skim, 187. 

souring of, 182. 

sterilization of, 186. 

testing of, 185. 
Mineral matter, estimated amount re- 
quired, 56. 

foods richest in, 56. 

importance in diet, 118. 

in breakfast foods, 122. 

in wheat, 109, iii, 114, 115, 117. 

in whole grain, 123, 125. 

legumes contain, 130. 

occurrence in foods, 33. 

occurrence in the body, 33. 

uses in the body, 9, 33, 41. 
Myosin, 18, 21, 160, 165. 
Myosinogen, 21, 

Neufchatel cheese, 199. 
Nitrogen, 13, 43- 

amount excreted daily, 44, 45- 

bodily loss calculated, 44, 45. 

daily intake, 44, 45. 

in tissue-building foods, 9. 

per cent in albuminoids, 21. 

per cent in proteins, 13, 20, 44. 

per cent in the body, 12, S3- 
Nitrogenous equilibrium, 44, 45. 
Nitrogenous foods classified, 18. 
Non-nitrogenous foods classified, 23. 
Nucleoprotein, 19, 20, 34, 175. 
Nucleus, composition of, 10. 

function of, 9. 
Nutritive ratio, 48, 51, 72, 137. 

how found, 51. 

of cereals, 124. 

of legumes, 129. 

of milk, 51-52. 
Nutritive value of potato soup, 77. 
Nuts, 149. 

calories per pound, 102. 

table of composition, 151. 

Oatmeal, 122. 
Oats, 121, 126. 
Oils and fats, 24, 72. 

volatile, 24, 31, 135. 
Oleomargarine, 193. 
Organs of elimination, 41. 
Ossein, 18, 22. 



206 



INDEX 



Oxidation, g, i6. 

of cells, 1 6. 

of fats and sugar, 17. 

products of, 17. 
Oxygen, per cent in body, 12. 
Oysters, 172. 

Pancreatic juice, 36, 39. 

Parasites in meat, i6i. 

Parmesan cheese, igg. 

Peanut butter, 133. 

Peanuts, i2g, 133. 

Peas, i2g. 

Pectose, 23, 148. 

Pepsin, 36, 38, 3g. 

Peptones, 21, 3g, 40, i6i. 

Peristalsis, 36, 38, 123. 

Peristaltic movement, 38, 39. 

Phosphoalbumin, 41. 

Phosphorus, 19, 24, 33, 41, 42, 175. 

compound proteins contain, 113. 

foods containing, 42. 

in flours, grains, etc., 117. 

in albumins, 13. 

per cent in body, 12. 
Plasma, 40. 
Potash, 24, 42. 
Potassium, 33, 34, 41, 175. 

foods containing, 56. 

per cent in body, 12. 
Potato, sweet, 141. 
Potato soup, nutritive value of, 189. 
Potatoes, 134, 136. 

composition, 134, 136, 141. 

cooking of, 142. 

digestibility, 139. 

mineral salts in, 137. 

nutritive ratio of, 137. 

place in diet, 139, 140, 142. 

preparation of, 140. 

products of, 138. 

selection, 135, 137. 

storage of, 138. 

structure of, 136. 
Products, of cereals, 122. 

of milk, 170, 189. 
Protein, 9, 10, 18, 19. 

amount needed daily, 43, 45, 50, 60. 

as fuel, 46, 47. 

chemical formula for, 19. 

coagulation of, 21. 

composed of, 9, 13, 20. 



Protein, compound, 34. 

decomposition products of, 22, 60. 

defined by Chittenden, 19. 

derived, 34. 

digestibility of, 53, 54. 

digestion of, 38, 39, 40. 

end products of, 22, 162. 

excess of, 60, 61. 

general classification of, 34. 

in butter, 190. 

in cereals, 71, 106, 108, iig, 125, 127. 

in cheese, 72, 193, 196, 198. 

in chocolate and cocoa, 154. 

in eggs, 174, 175, 177, 179. 

in fish, 171, 173. 

in foods as prepared for cooking, 100- 
102. 

in foods as purchased, 99, 100. 

in legumes, 71, 106, 128, 133. 

in meat, 72, 156-159, 160, 161, 165. 

in milk, 72, 180, 183, 187, 189. 

in milk products, i8g, 190. 

in roots and tubers, 134, 135, 137, 139, 
140, 142. 

in wheat, 113, 117, 157. 

lack of, 60, 61. 

nutritive ratio, 51, 52. 

occurrence in food, 13, 21. 

per cent of nitrogen in, 20. 

simple, 22, 34. 

true, 18, 20, 168. 

uses of, ig, 21. 
Proteoses, 39. 
Protoplasm, 19. 

composition of, g, 10. 

function in cell, g. 

in animal cells, g. 

in vegetable cells, 11. 
PtyaHn, 36, 38. 

Rennin, 37, 38, 3g, 183. 
Rice, 121, 122, 125, 127. 
Rickets, 12. 

Saliva, 36, 37, 38. 

Salt, occurrence in body, 13, 24. 

Shellfish, 172, 173. 

Sherman, energy requirements, 48. 

protein requirements, 45. 
Skim milk, 187. 

composition of, 187, i8g. 

nutritive value of, 187. 



INDEX 



207 



Skim milk, uses of, 188. 
Soda, 24, 42. 
Sodium, 41. 

foods containing, 56. 

per cent in the body, 12. 
Solanin, 138. 
Spaghetti, 121. 
Starch, 23, 25, 26, 122. 

coefficient of digestibility, 27. 

composition of, 24. 

digestion of, 26. 

effect of heat on, 25, 26. 

food value, 27. 

glycogen form of, 27. 

in potatoes, 140. 

in vegetable cells, 10, 11. 

solubility, 25. 

(See Carbohydrates.) 
Starchy roots and tubers, 134, 135. 
Steapsin, 36, 39. 
Stilton cheese, 199. 
Succulent roots and tubers, 142. 

place in diet, 143, 144. 

preparation, 143. 

selection, 143. 

storage, 143. 

table of composition, 143. 
Sucroses, 25, 28. 

action of ferments on, 28. 

action of heat on, 28. 

caramelization of, 28. 

melting point of, 27. 
Sugar, 23, 25. 

calories per pound, 100. 

composition of, 13. 

danger of excessive consumption, 28, 
61, 63, 154. 

food value, 28. 

glucose form of, 29. 

in cells, 11. 

in milk, 28, 182. 

in sweet potatoes, 141. 

occurrence in body, 13. 

(See Carbohydrates.) 
Sulphur, 24, :3,T„ 41. 

in egg, 175. 

in proteins, 57. 

per cent in body, 12. 
Supper, menus, 78, 81, 84, 87, 89, 92, 95, 
98. _ 

planning of, 69. 
Sweet potatoes, 134, 141. 



Sweet potatoes, composition and struc- 
ture, 141. 

cooking, 142. 

place in diet, 142. 
Swiss cheese, 198. 
Syntonin, 165. 

Tables, calories in foods per pound, 99- 

100. 
classification of nitrogenous foods, 18. 
classification of non-nitrogenous foods, 

23-24. ^ 
classification of roots and tubers, 134. 
coefficient of digestibility of different 

foods, 132. 
composition of animal foods, 156. 
composition of cereals, 109. 
composition of cereals and cereal prod- 
ucts, 126. 
composition of cheese, 193. 
composition of cuts of beef, 165. 
composition of flours, 116. 
composition of fresh fish, 173. 
composition of fruits, 150. 
composition of green vegetables, 145. 
composition of legumes, 129. 
composition of meats, 157. 
composition of milk and its products, 

180. 
composition of nuts, 151. 
composition of potatoes, 134. 
composition of products of milk, 189, 

190. 
composition of roots and tubers, 142. 
composition of wheat, 114. 
effect of heat on meat, 168. 
energy requirements in calories, 48. 
equivalent nutritive values, 71, 72. 
estimated amount of mineral matter 

required daily, 56. 
factors used in calculating meals, 50. 
foods grouped according to fairly 

equivalent nutritive values, 71, 72. 
foods richest in mineral matter, 56. 
general classification of proteins, 34, 

35. 
hourly outgo of energy from the human 

body, 49. 
measurements for planning meals, 72. 
mineral matter in flours, 117. 
nitrogenous foods in meat, 168. 
nutrients in different flours, 117. 



208 



INDEX 



Tables, per cent of foods consumed in 

American diet, 107. 
relative richness of cereals in different 

ingredients, no. 
Tea, 152, 

Temperature of body, how maintained, 45. 
Testing of milk, 185. 
Tissue poisoning, 42. 
Trichina, 170. 
Trypsin, 36, 39. 
Typhoid germs in oysters, 172. 

Urea, 17, 22, 42, 161. 

Vegetable acids, 24, 25, 27, 42. 

in fruits, 147, 149. f 

Vegetable foods, 9, 106, 134. 

relative nutritive value, 107. 
Vegetables, food value of green, 71, 175. 
ViteUin, 175. 



Waste, elimination of, 7, 
115, 149, 161. 



17, 60, 62, 6s, 



Water, 31. 

absorption of, 32. 

amount needed, 32, 61. 

composition of, 12, 13. 

formation in body, 17, 22, 32, 41, 
161. 

in cells, 10, 11. 

per cent in body, 9, 32. 

per cent in foods, 32. 

use of hot water, 32. 

uses of water, 9, 32. 
Wheat, 121. 

composition of, 110-112. 

detailed study of, 1 10. 

milling of, 113. 

nutritive value of, 1 24. 

structure of, 110-112. 

(See Cereals.) 

Xanthin, 18, 23. 

Zein, protein in corn, 119. 



ym 13 1913 



\ 



